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Culture

Greek Chocolate Firm’s Femicide Video Leaves Viewers Shocked

ATHENS – As Greece is dealing with rising domestic violence and at least 14 cases of women being killed this year by their husbands or partners, the reality has been brought home hard with a gripping video sponsored by a popular chocolate company, Lacta.

Called, “Don’t Ever Leave Me,” it has swept across Greece with a love story quickly turned into Greek Tragedy, a happy young couple spending summer on a beach, falling in love, the man telling her passionately: “I want you to be mine, only mine.”

And there’s the rub.

He means it, turning into a control freak who monitors her and her phone calls, becoming more demanding and abusive as the love story deteriorates like film being burned by a projector lamp.

In short time, it becomes a dark tale as he accuses her of lying, although she isn’t, keeps her from seeing friends, talking on the phone or having any outside life other than being attached to his side.

It parallels how these kinds of relationships become toxic, said the site Adweek which follows stories of advertising companies, the video produced by Ad agency Ogilvy Greece, directed by Argyris Papadimitropoulos directed it. It was released ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on Nov. 25.

Within a few minutes, it tells the whole sad story as they take a drive and his abuse grows and he drags her out of the car and tosses her off a cliff. Just like that.

Since its launch last week it has gone viral in Greece, becoming the number-one YouTube video and being covered by national media, the site noting that some Greek media outlets attributed some of the killings to passion or as “love” crimes, instead of hate.

Lacta is owned by the Chicago-based business Mondelez and Adweek noted that, “Wile most confectionary brands tend to focus on sweet or charming stories in their advertising, Lacta is subverting the genre to raise awareness of the fact that domestic violence cases are on the rise in Greece,” which have become bitter stories.

The video ends with a warning to look out for signs of psychological and physical abuse and provides information from Diotima, an organization devoted to gender rights and to equality.

 

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