The European Central Bank's social media unit has moved beyond parody with the launch of a new campaign that encourages citizens to take a 'selfie' of themselves holding the new EUR10 banknote.
The new banknote featuring enhanced security features went into circulation yesterday. To mark the occasion and to raise awareness of the switchover, a social media competition called "Selfie with the new €10" is being held by the ECB on Twitter and Instagram from 23 September until 30 November 2014.
The bank has set up a
flickr page where the masses can post their photos, with the winning image earning its owner a free iPad.
The initiative had one respected Aite analyst asking whether the world had gone mad.
It's not the first time the ECB's social media footlings have raised eyebrows.
In November 2011, amid desperate calls for the ECB to step in and do more to help alleviate the euro zone crisis, social media wonks at the bank turned to Twitter to trumpet the arrival of an important new monetary policy game for the iPhone and iPad.
Players of '€conomia' must strive to keep inflation stable at two percent by using interest rates to control economic growth. The ECB also developed a separate PC game - Inflation Island - in which participants could view the effects of rampant inflation on an economy.