DCU’s Media Production Society (MPS) were asked to remove their hoax video by Domino’s Pizza which was posted to social media by members of the society after DCU Students’ Union’s Halloween Ball.
The video was made in association with Domino’s as part of a marketing campaign featuring MPS Chairperson, Niall Farrell; Deputy Head of DCUtv, David Atkinson; and MPS Commercial Relations Officer, Jack Power. Domino’s Pizza have sponsored MPS for a number of years.
The video, which was just under 90 seconds long, showed three members of the MPS committee in the vicinity of the Helix when they spotted a young couple they knew in distress. Although difficult to see the events unfold, it appeared the woman’s partner was forced into the boot of a car before they could reach them.
The group then uploaded the video to Facebook, claiming they had given statements to the gardaí regarding the incident. The video has since been deleted from the social media site.
MPS have since released a statement stating that it was not their intention “to promote or showcase violence towards women.” The society has also distanced themselves from such behaviour and stated that it was never the angle they intended to take.
The original intention of the society was to leave the conclusion of the video up to the viewers, in order to create a talking point. Speaking to The College View, Farrell expressed his disappointment that the campaign was brought to an early end. “It is unfortunate, however, that the campaign was stopped in its mere infancy as the length of such a sizable initiative stretches far longer than three days”.
A spokesperson from the Domino’s Pizza Group said: “Domino’s does not endorse violence in any instance. We accept this prank from the Media Production Society was misleading and we requested that the video be removed from their Facebook page so as not to cause any further confusion.”
MPS also stated that they highly value their relationship with Domino’s Pizza and look forward to continuing that relationship in the near future, who they are meeting with this week.
Finnian Curran
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