Griselda is a success around the world. Netflix consumption figures prove this. And, to continue generating conversation and views, the platform devised a provocative promotional act on the streets of Paris: placing a truck with a huge straw that sucked up the streaks from the road as if they were cocaine. “Weather alert: very high risk of snow in Paris,” the publication warned. After seeing the reactions, however, the company has tried to back down and delete it from the networks.
“Not everything goes in advertising strategies,” criticized the journalist and TikToker Paola Conde on her social networks. She is of the opinion that promotional acts like this cocaine addict lilac truck contribute to stigmatizing a country like Colombia: “Netflix, having such a strong impact worldwide, should rethink this type of advertising messages.” “A grotesque act, but it will surely work,” a follower commented.
Griselda Blanco, born in Colombia but known for trafficking cocaine in Miami and popularizing contract murders from moving vehicles, is the umpteenth case of a questionable celebrity leaving the South American country. There are those who are tired of the frivolous promotions around key figures in drug trafficking (remember the commercialization of Pablo Escobar after Narcos) and the image that this constant exploitation of its criminals gives to the country.
And, it seems, Netflix has taken note. The publication has been deleted from the platform's French account without leaving a trace, although other accounts preserve the controversial video which, for others, is simply a promotional maneuver in bad taste. It is one thing to tell an adult story set in drug trafficking and organized crime and quite another to joke about substance use from the company's official profiles, followed by audiences of all ages.
Griselda, in its first four days available on the platform, generated 113.8 million hours watched among the platform's subscribers, which translates into 20.6 million views for its six episodes. Starring and produced by Sofía Vergara, it features dramatic licenses about the rise of Griselda Blanco in drug trafficking until she becomes the so-called Godmother of Cocaine.
