The company behind a controversial video and "frosh" event in Ottawa is responding to criticism and attention with a new promotional video.
On Friday morning, founder of Aficionado Studios, Jarett Lopez, posted a call to "all students," asking them to gather at a local beach to film "the next Frosh 2014 trailer."
Lopez and his company originally made headlines earlier in the week, after posting a promotional video for a week of events they are planning for the beginning of the school year. Local students and post-secondary institutions criticized the video, saying it encourages irresponsible and inappropriate behaviour.
The company markets their weeklong event as the only frosh week in which students from the University of Ottawa, Carleton University, and Algonquin College can all participate. Aficionado Studios is not affiliated with any Ottawa universities or colleges.
The original ad is a montage of shots of young people partying. It includes footage of women dancing in their underwear, students playing drinking games, a bong, and what appears to be marijuana. The company borrowed most footage from sources online, but said that the shots they did film did not use real drugs or alcohol.
The end of the video also shows a series of clips of young people so intoxicated that they are unable to walk and end up falling down. One young man hits his head on a hand dryer in a washroom before collapsing onto the floor.
Large block letters cross the screen, reading, "Now’s the time to make mistakes."
The legal drinking age in Ontario is 19. Many first year university students are still 17 or 18.
As of Friday evening, Lopez hadn’t replied to phone calls and email requests for an interview with CTVNews.ca. But a post on his Facebook page says the second video, which is supposed to debut Saturday, will focus less on nightlife and more on daytime events.
He also posted this message at about 2:30 a.m. on Friday morning, "Contemplating the best way to execute our next move #frosh2014 #controlthemedia #dontletitcontrolyou (sic)."
Jeremy Brzozowski, the manager of Carleton University’s Student Experience Office, said that the university doesn’t support the type of behavior shown in Aficionado Studios’ first promotional video.
"The university does not endorse, nor is it affiliated with, any third party frosh events and cannot verify if precautionary measures have been taken to protect participants," Brzozowski said in an email to CTVNews.ca.
"Carleton's goal is to help students make the transition to university life in a safe and engaging manner. With this in mind, alcohol is not served during any of our on-campus or off-campus organized orientation activities."
Brzozowski also said the 1,000 volunteers that run Carleton orientation are all required to sign a contract, agreeing to be positive role models.
"I would encourage all students to learn more about their institution’s sanctioned orientation programs," Brzozowski. "And remember that participating is a once in a lifetime experience."
