Sweden Negotiates With Switzerland in Campaign to Avoid Confusion

Despite being more than 10 times the size of Switzerland and located in the Nordics, tourists still confuse the two countries. Now, tired of the mix-ups, its tourism body Visit Sweden aims to do something about it—by negotiating a trade deal.

To help global travelers, leaders, the New York Stock Exchange and event organizers who have all made the mistake of identifying which country is which, Visit Sweden has released an online video offering Switzerland its chance to differentiate from each other. Those include LSD, Mountain tops and expensive watches if Sweden can keep rooftops, peace and quiet and the Northern Lights.

The terms of the proposal are outlined in a state address made directly to the leaders of Switzerland made by Swedish comedian and actor Emma Peters.

There are other elements to the agreement with a first draft available to see on the Visit Sweden website, although the country has added that it is still open to discussions with Switzerland in order to get it signed.

“I know a lot of people from both Sweden and Switzerland have experienced the confusion. I certainly have. For example, a couple of months ago I was in New York, asking for directions to our New York office. But when I stepped into the lobby, I realized that I was at the Swiss General Consulate. Back out on the street, slightly embarrassed, I was even more convinced in this idea,” said Nils Persson, chief marketing officer at Visit Sweden in a statement.

The nearly two-minute film and campaign, titled “Sweden (Not Switzerland),” was developed alongside creative agency Forsman & Bodenfors. 

“Making Sweden stand out in the competitive world of tourism isn’t easy. And if people think that Sweden is the same country as Switzerland, that obviously makes it even harder. With this campaign, we can hopefully solve both these problems,” explained Marcus Hägglöf, senior copywriter/creative at Forsman & Bodenfors.

Media planning and buying on the campaign was handled by Mindshare.

CREDITS:

Client: Visit Sweden
Chief marketing officer: Nils Persson
Head of partnerships/ Project Leader: Kristina Nyström
Head of PR: Viveca Burkhardt
Project manager: Olivia Brodd
Head of web and social media and digital production: Malin Careliusen
Digital analyst: Louise Blomberg
Site manager: Helena Lundberg
Digital producer and coordinator: Emmie Bolmstedt
Creative agency: Forsman & Bodenfors
Account director: Ann Spennare-Bengtsson
Account executive: Linus Larsson
Agency producer: Åsa Hammar
Art director: Agnes Stenberg-Schentz
Copywriter: Marcus Hägglöf
Designer: Sara Lemchen
Strategist: Kaj Hettman
PR strategist: Julia Sjödin
Head of partnerships: Jan Holm Weber
Production company: Bleck
Director and DOP: Marcus Svanberg
Producer: Jakob Berlin
Focus puller: Stickan Olsson
DIT and tech: Trausi Birgisson
Gaffer: Rolf Carlbom
Best boy: Stefan Wallman
Sound technician: Stefan Brag
Set design: Malin Sköld
Stylist: Matilda Bång
Production: Dimona Fessahaye
Offline: Simon Pontén
Grade: Martin Steinberg
Online: Wille Rising
Sound: Fredrik Sundberg
Media agency: Mindshare