In Georgia, creative agency's staff are resigning en masse over a ruling party video many in society find offensive to Ukraine

JWT Metro: resign over the ‘Georgian Dream’ video

Employees of the Georgian creative agency JWT Metro are resigning en masse after the company’s founder, Nika Bochorishvili, announced on social media on October 10 that he had created a controversial campaign video for the ruling party “Georgian Dream,” which compares war-torn Ukraine to “peaceful and prosperous” Georgia.

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People on social media are calling it a disgrace and “the lowest point.”

The video was published at the end of September, but the author was not identified. The employees of JWT Metro only learned that their boss was behind it today from his post. In the comments to this post, they announced their resignation.

According to agency director Eka Kipiani, the mass resignation of employees has effectively led to the agency’s dissolution. Kipiani emphasizes that Nika Bochorishvili clearly did not create the video alone, yet all the blame will fall on him, while the co-authors (director, cameraman, etc.) are “hiding.”

Nika Bochorishvili stated that the video was filmed by a team of freelancers he had invited.

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“I can confidently say that the agency’s employees were not involved in this project, although that doesn’t reflect well on the company. P.S. I’m looking for a job,” wrote JWT Metro employee Sandro Javakhishvili.

It is worth noting that JWT Metro was one of the creative agencies that jointly announced in the spring of 2024 that they would not collaborate with brands supporting the “foreign agents” law initiated by the “Georgian Dream” party.