14 DAY TRIAL // Fans of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” needn’t be told who Emilia Clarke is but, for those who aren’t familiar with the show, we’ll just mention that she’s one of the most popular, talented and gorgeous young actresses of the day. Except in Russia, where she’s being featured in an anti-rape campaign she probably has no idea about.
The Daily Mail reports that a brand new ad in support of mayoral candidate Yakov Silin features a photo of Emilia (renamed Anya) and “her” message to the people of Yekaterinburg.
As noted above, the photo was used without the star’s permission.
“I suddenly noticed that for the last couple of years I'm not afraid to walk at night in Yekaterinburg. I now have confidence that the city is safe, that no-one will attack me or rape me,” reads the ad.
“It's so cool... There are only few people on the streets, the streets have lights, the city is fresh and incredibly beautiful. Especially after it has been raining,” it further says.
Few probably bought the message but fans of the show immediately realized what was happening, and flooded the politician’s website with messages meant to let him know that he had exactly zero chances of pulling a fast one on them: how nasty of him to create a woman to tell the story of how much the city had changed, they said.
Consequently, the agency behind the ad came up with an apology of sorts to say that the idea was from the start to sell a “fantasy.” Of course, they knew who Emilia Clark was, don’t be ridiculous!
“We selected a famous and beautiful actress on purpose, to make it clear that this is a fantasy. Next time we will write more clearly. Sorry,” they say in a statement cited by the aforementioned media outlet.
“Our internet post which was a fantasy with a photo of Emilia Clarke, famous for the TV series Game of Thrones, has caused a strange resonance. We assure you, Daenerys Targaryen (a character played by Clarke), in this case is just a beautiful woman. We don't claim that we have her support,” they add.
As expected, the fans who first realized the strategy aren’t fooled by this explanation. Are you?