Ciutadan's Campaign--nude?!

Well this campaign promotion for Albert Rivera's election came as quite a surprise to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anpQadSAuHU&feature=player_embedded

Cataluna is preparing for their upcoming elections and this party in particular, the Ciutadans, represents a group of people who believe in revolution and rebellion against the Nationalism government. The group was formed in Catalonia in July 2006 in response to a stand made by Catalan intellectuals critical of the nationalist government, and eager for a new political party to "address the real problems faced by the general public." Albert Rivera, the current candidate for this party running for president of Catalonia, is leading a group of people of different ages and genders down the street behind him in this promo, ending with a sign saying "Rebel." The spot was supposed to reflect a "civic revolution" against the current status quo in Catalonia. Some of the issues they are against include things like laws allowing only the speaking of Catalan.

While I understand their desire for revolution and change, this advertisement definitely caught me off guard. It definitely isn't something you'd see in the states without an immense amount of controversy (in the very least.) Most likely it would never be allowed, or the candidate would face some consequences. Not to mention, this particular candidate has apparently posed nude before in support of his cause, and now just recently added a group of people to his campaign to further enforce his presence. I admire the liberalism in the media in Spain, but I thought the message was a little extreme. To me it said, "if you don't let us make change, we're just going to walk around naked in protest."

However, being a public relations major myself, I am a big believer that no publicity is bad pubilicity. Rivera definitely succeeded in making his mark and getting everyone's attention in standing up for his party, and for that I give him credit, and wish him the best of luck!