It was meant to be a poster extolling the virtues of a strong family. But eagle-eyed Hungarians, or indeed anyone who has used social media over the past year, have noticed a small problem.

The latest advert in the Hungarian government’s campaign to boost “traditional” families and increase birth rates features a photograph of a couple who achieved fame for memes depicting infidelity, or at least a distracted partner.

“Young married couples are receiving support while they expect a baby,” says the government poster, illustrated by a smiling couple whom many will recognise from the viral “distracted boyfriend” photograph.

Anti-Juncker billboards are being replaced with advertisements of the Hungarian government’s "family protection action plan”.



But this new campaign seems to be designed by some less Internet-savvy people. OMG.



Source:https://t.co/GOT74WCHqx pic.twitter.com/aGXHeUD68l — Szabolcs Panyi (@panyiszabolcs) March 13, 2019

The photograph used was one of a series of stock photos taken by a Barcelona-based photographer, Antonio Guillem, of three models in various situations for use in advertising and promotions. The picture that went viral was originally titled “disloyal man walking with his girlfriend and looking amazed at another seductive girl”.

On Wednesday the Hungarian news website index.hu mocked the government for using the characters from the meme, and provided a number of options for further potential family values posters, including images of a grumpy cat and of the actor Nicholas Cage.

The ‘distracted boyfriend’ image that went viral, with internet users adapting it as a meme. Photograph: Shutterstock/Antonio Guillem

Hungarians got busy creating sarcastic memes about Viktor Orbán’s ruling Fidesz party using the image.

Orbán, whose party won a third consecutive term in government last year, has been keen to portray his government as a promoter of traditional Christian values, and has emphasised the child-bearing and rearing role of women and the importance of “traditional families” as a solution to population decline and emigration of Hungarians to western Europe.

He has said his third term will focus mainly on fixing Hungary’s demographic problems. Last month he announced that women who have four or more children would benefit from a lifetime exemption from income tax.

“In all of Europe there are fewer and fewer children, and the answer of the west to this is migration,” said Orbán in his annual state of the nation address on Sunday. “They want as many migrants to enter as there are missing kids, so that the numbers will add up. We Hungarians have a different way of thinking. Instead of just numbers, we want Hungarian children. Migration for us is surrender.”

On Thursday the Hungarian ambassador to the US and the country’s minister for family affairs will hold an event at the Library of Congress in Washington entitled “Making Families Great Again” to promote the Hungarian families policy. A number of members of Congress have been announced as speakers.