Watch: Council’s Office-style mockumentary insults town it was intended to promote

Arguments erupt at meeting over claims video made by mayor’s son will cause ‘reputational damage’ to town in Hampshire

A council’s “mockumentary” in the style of TV show The Office ended up insulting the town it was trying to promote.
Cllr Joseph Hughes was inspired by the hit show and the mockumentaries of Philomena Cunk when he made a 10-minute-long film to promote his home town of Andover.
The Hampshire town was recently nominated on a list of the most depressing places to live in Britain and faced criticism for being boring.
In an effort to combat this image, fellow councillors granted the 26-year-old permission to experiment with a David Brent-inspired “tongue-in-cheek” film.
But after watching the final video, in which Cllr Hughes poured scorn on the town’s Christmas lights switch-on event, councillors said their “hearts sank” and many voiced concerns it could cause “reputational damage”.
Cllr Hughes reportedly ignored the his colleagues’ repeated requests not to publish the film and shared the video on his personal YouTube page with the support of his “proud” father, the mayor of Andover.
The video spurred 16 formal complaints from locals who accused Cllr Hughes of “degrading” their beloved Christmas event.
Cllr Katherine Bird said permission for the film was granted as a new way of promoting the town, with Cllr Hughes being given access to the authority’s personal microphones to create the mockumentary.
However, after watching the video, she said: “When you watch it, your heart sinks further and further.
“If you’ve watched something like The Office or Philomena Cunk, they are satire but they never punch down and the person they make fun of is themselves.
“It was less than complimentary about the town itself and pretty insulting to our partners. People that are incredibly hard working for the town are being lampooned.”
Tensions erupted at a subsequent council meeting which reportedly descended into “chaos”  as councillors swore at one another, the mayor stormed out and arguments ensued. 
At a second meeting on Jan 31, the committee passed a motion condemning the mockumentary for portraying the council in a bad light. The debate over the film will now be taken to a full council meeting.
The video, titled “Andover’s Countdown to Christmas”, sees Cllr Hughes walking around the town and attending the switch-on event.
In the film – described by some as “cringeworthy” – he asks Andover residents if they thought the light show was “underwhelming or extremely underwhelming” and whether they would rather be having a “boys’ or girls’ night in”.
Speaking about the video, Cllr Hughes said: “The whole concept of this project is to highlight the town in a satirical way, most importantly shining light on the charities that offer amazing groups and services for vulnerable people.
“It’s done out of pure love for the town and services.”
Robin Hughes, the town’s mayor, also defended his son’s video, saying: “It’s a mockumentary, it’s not real. I think he expected some kickback because if you are a boomer you don’t get the humour that’s in a mockumentary.”
A town council spokesperson said the authority did not have control over the video’s content but that “lessons had been learnt”.