DMOCRACIA has burst into the political debate as one of the most controversial institutional campaigns of recent months. What at first glance seemed like the launch of a new urban clothing brand, with 'influencers', promotional videos and a photo shoot in the Congress of Deputies, has provoked a wave of criticism on social networks and from the opposition over the use of public money, the involvement of content creators and the message chosen to promote the initiative.
Advertising campaign?
The presentation of DMOCRACIA was structured as if it were the launch of a clothing brand. Promotional videos, photographs in the Lower House, streetwear-style garments and a communication strategy supported by content creators specialized in fashion and lifestyle led many users to think that the Government was promoting a commercial brand.
Among the faces of the campaign are profiles well known to young people, such as Marina Rivers and Sara Fructuoso, whose participation has been one of the most discussed aspects. While some users consider that resorting to 'influencers' is an effective way to connect with Generation Z, others question whether an institutional campaign should use this type of spokesperson and the codes of digital marketing to disseminate a political message.
The controversy also extended to the chosen setting for the photo shoot: the Congress of Deputies. The Government has clarified that the images were authorized by the Board of the Chamber and that they sought to symbolize the meeting between democratic institutions and the cultural languages of the new generations.
The budget, under debate
Another focus of the controversy has been the cost of DMOCRACIA. Messages began to circulate on social networks claiming that the supposed "government clothing brand" had cost 15 million euros.
However, the Executive maintains that this figure corresponds to the global budget of the program "50 years of Spain in Freedom", which includes dozens of cultural, educational and institutional activities spread throughout the year.
According to the data provided by the Commissioner, the DMOCRACIA campaign has a maximum budget close to 386,000 euros, which includes both the design and production of the capsule collection and communication and dissemination actions. Furthermore, the Government assures that the social media strategy has not required advertising investment on platforms such as Meta or TikTok and that, in just three weeks, it has exceeded 4.2 million views and reached more than 600,000 people, of whom more than 75% are under 35 years old.
The Government: "It is not a clothing brand"
In light of the controversy, the Commissioner of "50 years of Spain in Freedom" has issued a statement to insist that DMOCRACIA is not a commercial brand. As explained, the initiative deliberately uses the visual language and communication strategies of urban fashion to capture the attention of young audiences, but the garments will not be for sale. It is a limited edition capsule collection that will only be used during official events of the commemorative program.
The campaign has been developed with the advice of creative Bnomio and is part of a broader strategy that aims to use formats close to Generation Z to disseminate values such as freedom, democracy, and citizen participation.
The Executive defends that, just as with music, film, or video games, fashion is today a communication channel capable of transmitting ideas and values, which is why they consider it legitimate to use this language to bring democracy closer to those who did not experience the Transition.
For the Government, the objective of DMOCRACIA is not to promote a clothing brand, but to awaken young people's interest in the functioning of democratic institutions and to highlight the five decades of democracy experienced in Spain.
DMOCRACIA and DEMÓCRATA
Beyond the political debate that the campaign has sparked, another aspect that has not gone unnoticed is the similarity between the name and visual identity of DMOCRACIA and that of the media outlet DEMÓCRATA. The choice of a practically identical name and a graphic image with very similar elements has caught the attention of numerous users.
50 years of Spain in freedom
The Commissioner for the celebration of 50 years of Spain in Freedom is the body created by the Government to coordinate the commemorative events of the half-century that has passed since the beginning of democracy.
Dependent on the Secretariat of State for Democratic Memory, it promotes exhibitions, educational activities, publications, and campaigns aimed at disseminating the political and social evolution of Spain since the Transition.