Much ado about nothing: this “Venus Influencer” it was so requested and paid for by the Ministry of Tourism and then left to its own devices. In the middle of the high season. For two months. Yes, because the latest Instagram post from Armando Testa’s campaign testimonial “Open to be amazed” – noted for the first time the online magazine founded by Enrico Mentana, open – is dedicated to Taormina and was published on Instagram on June 27th. The only social network where you can find her, since her profile does not exist on Facebook and TikTok and that is closed by Twitter. One even wonders whether the profile continues to be managed by the Ministry of Tourism, which regularly posts videos and news on its site.
The Open to Wonder campaign (of terror).
The career of “virtual content creator and testimonial” for the hapless alter ego of Botticelli’s Venus began last April, sparking exploding controversy, bought-follow polls, and hilarious memes. Since then, numerous posts and selfies dedicated to the beauties of Italy have been published on Instagram, more than one a week: rides between Capri, Rome, Pompeii and then again the Giro d’Italia – tragically juxtaposed close to Emilia Romagna -, Polignano a Mare and the commercial accompanying the campaign. The one with a clip shot in Slovenia.
The campaign budget of the Ministry of Tourism
And while the Ministry of Culture is taking advantage of the holidays of museum managers and cultural directors, the Ministry of Tourism has decided to pause a millionaire advertising campaign in the middle of summer. Meanwhile, poor Venus isn’t even close to 190,000 followers thanks to a hemorrhage of fake followers, users of the social network say. “I think they didn’t pay the social media manager this month, they haven’t posted anything for almost a month‘ says one comment. And another: “Venus, how are you spending your holidays in Albania in Saranda? But come on tell a story, you haven’t been in touch for a while and we fans are worried about you!“And for those most concerned, the ironic hashtag begins: #prayforVenus.
Julia Giaume