The Polish vodka Sobieski [1] states in its website that vodka's “birthplace was in Poland [2]” and not in Russia, as many believe. However what draws attention to the product is the use of whistleblower Edward Snowden [3] in its new advertising campaign. Last year, Snowden revealed the U.S. National Security Agency's (NSA) massive electronic surveillance system.
The author of this article captured the following images in New York's SoHo neighborhood. The ad says: “Why Edward Snowden wishes he'd sought asylum in Poland”:
Our Global Voices colleague Jillian C. York also captured the irreverent campaign:
hahah RT @jilliancyork [4]: Why Edward Snowden wishes he’d sought asylum in Poland. pic.twitter.com/tDUPlUdwhC [5]
— Raza Rumi (@Razarumi) May 22, 2014 [6]
The funny thing is that, as stated in the ad, Edward Snowden had in fact sought political asylum in Poland, but Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski [7] wrote on his Twitter account that “he will not give a positive recommendation.”
Snowden became famous about a year ago for his disclosures on how the NSA used global surveillance methods under the PRISM programs to collect billions of personal records. Since then, Snowden has sparked a global diplomatic storm and has been labeled a hero and a traitor by his supporters and opponents.
Snowden will make news again after agreeing to an exclusive interview with Brian Williams [8], host of NBC News, from Moscow. The interview will be broadcasted on Wednesday, May 28.