An advertisement from a nonprofit funded by the Irish government has been removed after a lawmaker said the video “does not represent the views of the Irish government.”
The video, which has amassed millions of views, has sparked online debate after it featured a warning about consent in a video showing grandparents hugging their grandchildren.
The ad was released by We-Consent, a nonprofit group supported by government agencies and a project of the Dublin Rape Crisis Center.
The ad quickly generated criticism and was swiftly removed as Irish Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Jim O’Callaghan said in a statement confirming the removal on X that it was “inappropriate” and “demeaning to grandparents."
Newsweek has contacted We-Consent and the Dublin Rape Crisis Center for comment via email.
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The video opened with two people ringing a doorbell. The door is then opened by a child who greets the couple by saying “Granny, grandad,” and the three of them embrace. Both grandparents remark that they had missed the child.
Then, the grandparents go to hug a teen child who is standing at the back of the hallway. She smiles awkwardly, and a voice overlay states, “Not everyone wants a hug. Even from the people who love them.”
That voice overlay then says, “Awkward? Maybe. Important? Absolutely.”
The Debate Around the Ad
The issue at the center of the ad is not an unusual one.
A quick Google search reveals numerous parenting articles on how to handle your children hugging people. The online response to the ad was that, while parents try to teach the importance of bodily autonomy and consent, people can end up feeling disgruntled.
O’Callaghan wrote a follow-up post on X, “It goes without saying that having loving grandparents in a child’s life is an incredibly positive thing to be cherished and not something to be campaigned against.”
He added that it’s “vital” to ensure that people understand consent in sexual relationships but said the video did not advance that aim and “in many ways was counterproductive.”
Similarly, Gavin Pepper, an independent representative on Dublin’s City Council, wrote in a post on Facebook, “Our Government and NGOs are losing the run of themselves.”
“Teach children boundaries, absolutely. Teach respect, absolutely,” he said. “But please, can we bring some common sense back into the conversation as well?”
Irish politician Peadar Tóibín, who leads the conservative Aontú party, wrote on X, “The government need to answer for this. It’s bonkers.”
The response to the advertisement, however, was not entirely negative.
Lorraine Hall, a county councillor for the center-right Fine Gael party, wrote on X, “Embarrassed for all the people that think that this is a literal rather than a figurative message…and have forgotten that advertising creativity is a thing. It’s also worth pointing out that the advertisement has you all talking about the advertisement, which is exactly what a successful advertisement is supposed to do.”
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Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Ben Kelly and Dave Siminoff.