Amsterdam is attempting to attract international tourists to the city for the annual Queen’s Day celebrations by using photoshopped images of world leaders enjoying themselves, the Parool reports on Saturday.

On one poster, US president Barack Obama and Russia’s Vladimir Putin are portrayed walking down a street in t-shirts reading ‘kiss me, I’m drunk’. In another, Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and French president Nicolas Sarkozy are pictured wrapped up in an orange feather boa. A third poster shows US secretary of state Hillary Clinton in a orange afro wig and bikini top.
The campaign has been mounted by the city’s marketing company Amsterdam Partners.
The three posters will appear all over the city in the run up to April 30, when the traditional Koninginedag party takes place and the city turns into a giant open air market. The images will also be available on 160,000 free postcards available at bars and cafes, the paper says.
Amsterdam Partners spokeswoman Geerte Udo said the aim of the posters was to show that the city is proud of Queen’s Day and that ‘everyone must come, including world leaders.’
She said the organisation’s advertising agency was certain that the images can be used, so long as royalties are paid. The posters will not be placed abroad.
A spokesman for the Italian embassy told the Parool that it would discuss the posters with the ambassador. The French embassy told the paper that no permission for the posters would be given by the Elysée – Sarkozy’s official residence.
For the Parool article and the posters, click here