Swedish convenience store chain Pressbyrån’s marketing campaign aims to get shoppers to stop in for a cinnamon bun, but the creative has proved so delicious that the ads were stolen.
The work from Stockholm-based creative agency Åkestam Holst promotes the popular snack, called kanelbulle in Swedish, with the tactics of early 2000s perfume marketing. Out-of-home ads show a shirtless man clutching a cinnamon bun to his chest, a woman in a black turtleneck holding the treats, and models posing with their snacks alongside tigers or a horse.
In a surprise turn of events, some of the ads placed across Stockholm’s streets and subway stations have gone missing since the campaign launched. Åkestam Holst creative director Daniel Vaccino promises the theft isn’t just a marketing stunt.
“Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, the ads were stolen for real,” he told Adweek. “We were told by the media agency who have been working extra time with filling in the cinnamon bun blanks during the last weeks.”
The campaign also features a 15-second spot where a woman in a golden gown walks barefoot around a mansion, speaking in questionable French while striking seductive poses. Instead of showing off a new scent, she introduces “Bulle de Kanelle” and holds up a cinnamon bun.
Pressbyrån even changed its name to the more French-sounding Pressburean to add to the luxe perfume theme.
“The inspiration came from the 2000s perfume aesthetic, which oddly seems to be back in fashion,” Vaccino said. “Tigers, women walking in empty mansions, men lurking in waterfalls for no apparent reason — it was simply too hard to resist. In all honesty, it’s a pretty good way to grab attention.”
The campaign launched in September and ties into the designation of Oct. 4 as Cinnamon Roll Day. Pressbyrån shared the creative across its social media accounts and is auctioning off copies of the posters through Tradera to raise money for Keep Sweden Clean.
CREDITS:
Reitan Convenience Sweden
Chief marketing & communication director: Lennart Schultz
Marketing & campaign manager: Adrienne Heurlin, Pernilla Norberg
Content manager: Gabriella Matheny
PR & communication manager: Harris Lukeman
Åkestam Holst NoA:
Creatives: Henrik Billing, Folke Kühlhorn
Creative directors: Joakim Khoury, Daniel Vaccino
Creative designer: Sara Bellafesta
Planner: Patrik Lundberg
Client director: Natalie Pehar N’doye
Account manager: Bella Lagerquist
Producers: Sanna Wikman, Joanna Nilsson
Directors: Nisse Axman / Folke Kühlhorn / Joakim Khoury
DoP/Edit/Grade/Online: Nisse Axman
Original/Print/Retouch: Christoffer Näll
VFX: Ville Askelöf
