Orange depicts Morocco with the Sahara, Ceuta and Melilla… then removes its advertisement

The billboard is located on the AP-7 motorway, between Elche and Valencia, in the direction taken by many travellers heading to Morocco. Orange is offering unlimited internet plans there under the slogan: “Explore Morocco with unlimited data, with Orange network”.

The campaign prompted a complaint from the representation of the Polisario Front in Spain. It accuses the operator of incorporating the Sahara into the map of Morocco. Sources close to the matter confirmed to Cinco Días that the billboard would be removed in the coming days.

On Bladi.net : EasyJet Sparks Outrage Over Controversial Morocco Map Omitting Western Sahara

The Polisario intends to verify that the removal is actually carried out and is asking that any replacement billboard exclude the Sahara from the outline of Morocco. Its representation threatens to consider other measures if Orange does not make the change within a period it deems reasonable.

Orange Maroc takes sole responsibility for the campaign

The same map sparked a second controversy among Spanish internet users and media outlets. On the outline used by Orange, no border separates Ceuta and Melilla from the rest of Moroccan territory. Spanish activists denounced a depiction giving the impression that the two cities were incorporated into Morocco.

The mapping of these territories regularly causes tensions in Spain. An official map of Morocco incorporating Ceuta and Melilla had already sparked controversy, while the dotted borders displayed by Google Maps recently irritated several Spanish officials.

Orange specifies that the design and purchase of this campaign were managed directly by its Moroccan subsidiary. MasOrange, which operates the brand in Spain and also belongs to the French Orange group, says it took part neither in the creation nor in the installation of the billboard.

On Bladi.net : article 46929

The group’s headquarters did not indicate whether it intended to review more broadly its procedures for validating the maps used in its European campaigns. For now, its commitment concerns only the forthcoming removal of this advertisement installed on the AP-7.