Travel

Greece: Travel company launches homophobic TV ad campaign featuring predatory truck driver

Mar 28 2013
Written by Scott Roberts

A travel company in Greece has launched a new TV ad campaign that appears to draw upon antiquated homophobic stereotypes of gay men being lecherous and predatory.

In the AirFasttickets video, which has been published on YouTube, a male hitchhiker is picked up by a gay male truck driver who is portrayed as menacing.

As the truck driver makes suggestive glances at the hitchhiker, the hitchhiker looks increasingly uncomfortable.

AirFasttickets suggests in avoiding similar situations, customers should book with them.

The company, founded in 2009 by Nikolaos Koklonis, says on its website that it arranges travel for almost 5 million people worldwide each year.

It has offices in Greece, Germany, the US and the UK.

In November of last year, Greek writer and researcher Fragkiska Megaloudi commented in the Huffington Post on how homophobia had risen considerably in Greece, since the start of its debt crisis in 2010.

Last November in central Athens, anti-gay protesters and members of Greek neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn succeeded in forcing a theatre company into closing its production of Corpus Christi, which portrays Jesus Christ as a gay man.

In the same month a decision by Greek state television to censor a gay kiss scene in the British drama Downton Abbey, sparked fears by the left-wing political party Syriza, that it could be down to the influence of Golden Dawn.

Golden Dawn, known for its homophobic and racist anti-immigrant stance, has been on the political ascendancy since Greece’s 2012 elections.