THE GREYEST DAY OF THE YEAR

TitleTHE GREYEST DAY OF THE YEAR
BrandHARTWALL
Product/ServiceHARTWALL ORIGINAL LONG DRINK
Category E02. Ambient Outdoor
Entrant HARTWALL Helsinki, FINLAND
Idea Creation BOB THE ROBOT Helsinki, FINLAND
Idea Creation 2 MILTTON Helsinki, FINLAND
Media Placement DAGMAR Helsinki, FINLAND
PR MILTTON Helsinki, FINLAND
Production LATAAMO GROUP Helsinki, FINLAND
Production 2 COCOA Helsinki, FINLAND
Production 3 VEIKKO KäHKöNEN PHOTOGRAPHY Helsinki, FINLAND
Credits
Name Company Position
Antti Lehtinen Miltton Creative Strategist
Jan Sederlöf Bob the Robot Oy Copywriter
Hermanni Kanerva Bob the Robot Oy Art Director
Toni Tiusanen Bob the Robot Oy Creative Director
Inke-Maaria Ketonen Miltton Concept Designer

Write a short summary of what happens in the digital or ambient execution or campaign.

Greyest Day of the Year campaign was an integrated 360 campaign that was able to turn the sky into the world’s biggest and most ambient billboard. By encouraging Finns to appreciate and celebrate their notoriously grey weather (Finland has more than 150 grey days yearly) we were able to create a strong association between the grey sky and Original Long Drink (a gin-based drink, known among Finns as “grey” because of its color). In short: we were able to brand the sky through an integrated marketing campaign which encouraged Finns to raise a grey toast to the grey sky on the greyest day of the year, (which was scientifically defined in co-operation with weather meteorologists).

Cultural / Context information for the jury

1. Original Long Drink is a Finnish icon with a unique heritage. It’s a mix of gin and grapefruit which is the most sold product in Alko, the Finnish national alcoholic beverage retailing monopoly. Every single drinking-age Finn is familiar with the product. Finns have nicknamed it "grey" because of its color. It’s best enjoyed cold on a summer day, which is why sales increase significantly during the summer. 2. Finnish summers are very short. For the rest of the year the weather is cold and grey. Consequently, the bad weather is a constant topic of discussion. 3. In January 2015, the Finnish parliament approved a law that prohibited the advertising of alcohol products in public places. Because advertising regulations have become tighter every year, we decided to brand something that could not be banned - the weather.

Explain how the work innovatively used the outdoor medium.

Have you ever heard of anyone bold enough to brand the weather? Now you have. By tapping into Finnish sense of national pride Original Long Drink (colloquially also known as “grey”) was able to make Finns see their notoriously grey weather from a new and appreciative point of view. On the Greyest Day of the Year more than 200 000 Finns raised a grey toast to the grey sky, and as a result of the campaign Original Long Drink was able to brand the world’s biggest and most ambient advertising space – while getting around Finland’s strict alcohol advertising restrictions.