fairy advert canary islands gentrification row

Fairy advert reignites Canary Islands gentrification row

Compiled with the help of artificial intelligence, based on Spanish-language information. Source below the article.

Fairy advert sparks backlash over gentrification in the Canary Islands

Disinformation or simply a new controversy amplified on social media? Either way, Fairy Spain is back in the firing line after posting an advert on its social channels that has reignited the debate about gentrification in the Canary Islands and the impact of certain advertising campaigns on a territory increasingly strained by tourism pressure. “You’re always better off on the island. Just look at the English: they came on holiday and stayed.” That is how the video Fairy Spain posted on its Instagram account on 13 October begins.

Our man in the kitchen

In a kitchen, a man with a Canarian accent carries on the conversation, looking at the camera: “They say to me: ‘Is there room for one more?’. Of course. One, and as many as it takes.” The scene continues with a question put to Johnny, a character who embodies the stereotype of the British tourist, whom the protagonist asks to pronounce the word Fairy in English.

Social media reaction

The advert was quick to draw criticism on social media networks. Numerous users have questioned the campaign’s message in a context defined by the social tension generated by tourism pressure across the archipelago. “For a soap advert, it stinks of cologne” and “not even Fairy can clean up this mess of an advert” are among the comments that have taken the brand to task over the tone of the piece. Another user sums up their unease with a reference to the saturation of the territory: “There isn’t room for a single pin more here in the Canary Islands, in case you hadn’t noticed, and there’s no room for Fairy in my house either after this rubbish advert.”

The brand’s response

Canarias Ahora has contacted the brand, which has said the campaign seeks “to convey a message of coexistence and sharing, in line with the spirit of Fairy: where two fit, four fit too, whether they are family, friends or workmates”. It has also stressed that it understands the message has been interpreted differently “given the current context in the Islands” but that “that was not the intention”.

A history of controversy

Beyond this episode, the company, owned by the US multinational Procter & Gamble (P&G), has been caught up in other controversies before. In 2018, Fairy drew heavy criticism for broadcasting advertising that perpetuated gender stereotypes by showing as many as five women and no men doing the washing-up. This was confirmed by the Audiovisual Council of Andalusia, which secured the withdrawal of the campaign by RTVA (Radio and Television of Andalusia / Canal Sur) following its ruling.

A year later, during the Supreme Court trial over the 1 October 2017 independence referendum (1-O), Fairy was dragged into a statement by the former government delegate in Catalonia, Enric Millo, who said that a law enforcement officer had claimed someone “had fallen into the Fairy plot, which was pouring detergent at the entrance of a school so that people would slip, fall and have their heads kicked in”. The claim went viral instantly, generating disbelief and countless memes, and led to protesters and even students displaying bottles of the brand live on television broadcasts by way of mockery.

A backdrop of social exhaustion

The criticism comes in a context marked by social exhaustion, driven by the housing crisis and mass tourism. This year the Canary Islands achieved their second-best figure in history for the arrival of foreign tourists, with a sharp rise in demand for holiday lets, making the region the fourth in Europe with the most overnight stays in holiday homes.

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