SAS - What is truly Scandinavian? Nothing (2020) 2:42 (Denmark)

SAS ponders on what is truly Scandinavian? And their answer is: absolutely nothing. ‘Our democracy? Credit goes to Greece. Parental leave? Thank you, Switzerland!’ 

Now, unlike the failed Christmas ad from Åhléns that gave credit to everyone else for Swedish Christmas traditions for no apparent reason, SAS has a point with their worldwide crediting tour. They want us to remember that meeting other cultures is what made our culture. Which incidentally isn't unique to Scandinavia either, that's just how cultures evolve. At least it's not full of Swedish stereotypes. Though, one detail really bothers me, the ad shows King Charles XII of Sweden at the mention of meatballs, spreading the fake news that he brought this famous culinary delight from Turkey. Richard Tellström, a lecturer at Stockholm University's Institute for Ethnology says this is inaccurate "It's a sort of fake news definitely." 
 

“At SAS, we are proud of our Scandinavian heritage and the role our travellers play in shaping tomorrow’s Scandinavia. We’re already seeing a change in travellers and in ourselves today - we’re more conscious of how and why we travel. When going abroad, most travellers want inspiration. They want something to bring with them home, be it memories or knowledge. And that’s going to move our society forward. 

If we weren’t curious about other parts of the world, Scandinavia simply wouldn’t look the way it does today.” says Martin Adonis, Integrated Marketing Manager, SAS.

Copywriter, Mathias Trads of & Co added:  “Scandinavia is having a moment. And us Scandis love it when the rest of the world talks about us. In a way, our little region is being put on a pedestal. So, we wanted to dive into how Scandinavia became to be Scandinavian in the first place - and how we can keep it evolving.”   

Nobody has to do anything to keep a culture evolving. Cultures simply do. One might have to work harder on keeping a culture alive when it is tossed aside for more modern influences, or slowly rejected by revisionism. 

“Every time we go beyond our borders, we add progress. In a way, Scandinavia was brought here, piece by piece.”  Says the Art Director behind the campaign, Lea Flodgaard of & Co.

“Experiencing new cultures, ways of living and seeing new parts of the world is always inspiring. We cannot close ourselves off. And sometimes, it feels as if we’re doing just that - as individuals, and also as a region. We wanted to remind Scandinavians of the importance of traveling and giving ourselves and our region new input” 

Agency: & Co.

Creative Director: Robert Cerkez

Account Director: Morten Fabricius

Account Manager: Mette Kruse

Head of Brand Activation and Social: Morten Saxnæs

Media Strategist: Rasmus Philip 

Art Director: Lea Flodgaard, Katrine Winblad

Copywriter: Mathias Trads, Kristel Krøier, Joachim Juel Ulrich

Agency Producer: Filippa Borg

Graphic Designer: Anders Martin Jensen 

Interactive Producer: Palle Aufeldt

Production Company: New Land

Director: Gustav Johansson

Executive Producer: Sara Samsøe

Producer: Adam Holmström

DOP: Jasper Spanning

Focus Puller: Peter Topsøe, Henrik Lyngbo, Stickan Olsson

Editor: Sam Ostrove

Editor Assistant: Martin Zaar

Colourist/Grader: Nicke Johansson

VFX & Online: Kalle Lundberg

VFX Animation: Per Helin

Music Composer: Pierre Riddez

Sound Design: Anton Ahlberg

VO: Elisabeth Garden

Client - SAS