With the Danish general election looming on 5 June, libertarian politician Joachim Olsen has found a clever way of winning his fellow Danes' hearts and minds — by placing a campaign ad on Pornhub, a popular adult website.
Online banners by the Liberal Alliance seen by Pornhub users now feature the smiling 41-year old politician with the caption: "when you finish jacking off, vote for Jokke [affectionate for Joachim]!"
"We must be where the Danes are", Joachim Olsen explained in an interview with the Danish daily Politiken.
Pornhub allows targeted ads based on the public's interests. Olsen chose to place his ad in the "soft" category, saying that he and his campaign "has tried to hit there, where Danes are the most".
Hvad sker der hvis @JoachimBOlsen betaler den annonce for sent?
— Kåre Quist (@QuistDR) 12 de maig de 2019
Ikke noget. Så sender de bare en rykker. #onkelhumor #dkpol #dkmedier pic.twitter.com/x4jQXqHvyk
On his Facebook page, Olsen admitted that there is no hidden undertone behind the ad.
"I just hope you had a good laugh", he said. "There must be room for it as well besides all the serious political messages".
Olsen's unorthodox campaigning has helped him bolster his profile, as his confession gathered over 1,400 likes and tonnes of comments, positive and negative alike.
"Joachim, this is nothing less than brilliant!" one commenter wrote.
READ MORE: Swedish Communists Shock With Spicy 'F**k EU Elections' Ad (VIDEO)
"It requires a high degree of self-confidence to expect people to masturbate to a picture of yourself", another commenter lauded Olsen's campaign.
Even the Liberal Alliance's political rivals appreciated the trick.
"The only thing that annoys me is that I wasn't the first one to get this done", Anders Stjernholm of the green Alternative party admitted.
Others, however, were far less supportive. "Sick joke for people with a clownish attitude to democracy", one person said.
"Can anyone tell me where all the serious politicians are hiding? Pornhub, hash smoke and Quran-throwing in front of a mosque. Otherwise, it goes very well for Denmark", another user wrote in a nod to several parties, including the Liberal Alliance, backing up the legalisation of cannabis, and the right-wing Stram Kurs's protests against Islam.
"Pornhub or the Liberal Alliance, they both f**k us", another one concluded.
READ MORE: Norwegian Party Demands Quota on Non-Nude Women Statues to Stop 'Men's Rule'
41-year-old Joachim Olsen is a former world class shot putter. With ten straight international finals, Olsen holds the longest string of appearances in finals at Olympic, World and European Championships among throwers. He was elected to the Danish Parliament in 2011.
At 7.5 percent of the vote, the libertarian Liberal Alliance is a junior party in the government led by the conservative-liberal Venstre party. Its platform is based upon economic liberalism, tax cuts, and reduction of welfare programmes.
