The insulting of the Romanian national flag received quite a lot of praise at the Effie Romania awards, as agency McCann Erickson got the silver awards in the newly created category "media efficiency" for the "American Rom" advertising campaign, for the Rom chocolate bar. The campaign, which was launched in early October last year, caused an outrage because it switched the colors of the Romanian flag on the wrapping to those of the American one, "so we can be proud when we are eating the bar".

Leaving aside the fact that Romania"s colors are red, yellow and blue, instead of brown, yellow and blue (as they appeared on the wrapping), the ad reflects on feelings protected by the Constitution and the Criminal Code.

* The Romanian Constitution, National Symbols Art. 12

(1) The Romanian Flag has three colors; the colors are positioned vertically, with the following order starting at the pole: blue, yellow, red.

* The Criminal Code, Offense brought to insignia, Art. 236

Any action which expresses contempt for Romania"s emblems is punishable by six months to three years in prison.

At the time McCann Erickson played both ends, and had prepared a second video clip in case the public reacted negatively (which is precisely what happened), in which it claimed that everything was a "joke" (which was just as outrageous, as if the Constitution is a laughing matter) and that the wrapping would remain unchanged, making it look like everything had been premeditated (when in fact the only thing that was premeditated was the double play, as there is no evidence that keeping the initial wrapping was part of the plan all along).

* The Effie awards are a 1968 initiative of the American Marketing Association of New York, to acknowledge the merits of advertisers and to promote the development of the profession in the US. Starting in 2008, the