Denmark’s bizarre series of sex campaigns lead to baby boom

In 2015 a Danish campiagn titled 'Do it for mom' urged people to have children in order to please their parents

Denmark’s birth rate is set to increase following a series of targetted sex campaigns, including one that called on Danes to “Do it for mom”.

Last year a string of campaigns were released over national television encouraging Danish people to procreate.

Company, Spies Travel, released a video with the slogan "Do it for mom" in September 2015 urging people to have children to please their parents and help reverse the country’s aging population.

“The Danish welfare system is under pressure. There are still not enough babies being born, despite a little progress. And this concerns us all. But those who suffer the most are perhaps the mothers who will never experience having a grandchild,” the advert stated, showing an older Danish woman imagining her future grandchild.

Soon after, the City of Copenhagen produced its own campaign calling on people to think about their fertility; with slogans asking men if their sperm was “swimming too slowly?” and women if they had “counted their eggs today?”

The country’s national broadcaster also aired a programme titled “Knald for Danmark” or “Screw for Denmark”.

Nine months later reports have suggested that Denmark is set for a baby boom with 1,200 more babies due to be born this Summer compared to last year, The Local reports, citing a report in the Danish broadsheet Politiken.

Copenhagen’s deputy mayor for health, Ninna Thomsen, told TV2 News the campaigns were not co-ordinated and she did not want to take credit for the imminent baby boom.

Ms Thomsen said: “You probably can’t ascribe the increase in births to our campaign, but it’s definitely a feather in our cap if the campaign has had a positive effect.

“It was a bit of a surprise to me that there were so many campaigns on the subject within such a short time. It certainly resulted in people getting plenty of fertility advice.”

The campaigns stemmed from Denmark’s falling birth rate and aging population.

In 2014, the national fertility rate was at 1.69, a small increase on 2013 and the first time such an increase had occurred since 2010.

The average age of first-time parents in Denmark was 29.1 years in 2014, five years older than the average age in 1970.