An advertising spot that is part of an print campaign that describes Bulgarians as having “fingers like large salamis” was given the Silver Lion award at the Cannes Lions 2008 international advertising festival.

The spot, titled “Bulgarians”, was made by M&C Saatchi Sydney for Australian shirt-maker Herringbone and competed in the clothing, footwear and accessories category.

It advertises hand-made shirts and uses Bulgarians as an example of bad tailors. It advises to “never buy a shirt made by a Bulgarian. For the finest detail only buy shirts made by tailors with small hands”. 

The advert also features a photograph of three muddy and scruffy-looking males, with the caption Bulgarian Haute Couture.

So far, there has not been any official reaction from Bulgaria on the fact that the advert might be derogatory and insulting, even though the festival ended on June 21 2008.

M&C Saatchi"s office in Sydney did not reply to The Sofia Echo email asking for comment on their choice of text and photographs for the advert.

Advertisement Agency Asked to Return Award for Ad Mocking Bulgarians

Bulgarian ad agency reacts to Bulgarian-bashing advert