A poster that divides opinions
The new poster for the Mercè 2024 festivities, presented this recent Friday, has sparked an avalanche of criticism on social networks during the last weekend. The image is based on a short film made by the production company CANADA and shows a child sitting on a bed staring at a window. This design has generated intense debate, mainly due to the lack of clear references to Barcelona and Catalonia.
Reaction of political figures
Jordi Martí Galbis, Trias councilor for Barcelona, commented that ‘this year the Mercè poster is receiving very unflattering reactions’. Similarly, the CUP has criticized that ‘it is a new example of a PSC that eliminates everything that identifies the city’.
Criticism on social networks
On social platforms, users have also expressed their discontent with the absence of Catalan symbols. One user, @peiretis, wrote: ‘PSC brand: without tradition and without a trace of Catalanism.’ Similarly, Ramón Cotarelo, political scientist and writer, indicated that the design ‘manages to make us forget that Mercè is a Barcelona and Catalan festival’.
Other users compared the image of the poster to the cover of a horror movie from the 80s, saying that ‘without the video it is impossible to understand the context’. Others pointed out that ‘the poster is clearly a poster for a horror movie’.
Comparisons and varied opinions
Criticism was not limited to the lack of local elements. One user highlighted that ‘the poster is a clear imitation of any commercial advertising, from socks to family scenes.’ Another comment remarked that ‘it is difficult to guess what the child alone in a bed and those colors on the wall have to do with Mercè’. Several users agreed that the design was ‘completely decontextualized’.
Sarcastic comments and harsh criticism
Even more sarcastic comments included phrases like ‘Catalan culture will die for being cool and in bad taste’ and ‘the country will perish with the death of culture, we have nothing else to sustain our identity.’
In conclusion, the Mercè 2024 poster has divided public opinion. The lack of clear references to Catalan culture and tradition has generated a flood of criticism on the networks, standing out as a communication error for not adequately transmitting the spirit of the festival.