Oslo is completely unknown

Together with Oslo Brand Alliance, we wanted to offer unhappy tourists a different kind of city experience.
International surveys have shown that Oslo is completely unknown to the world. So, this summer, Oslo Brand Alliance (Oslo Business Region, VisitOSLO, and Oslo Region) wanted to put Oslo on the map by finding an innovative, efficient and digital way of promoting the city internationally in line with the values of groundbreaking, enriching and genuine.

The challenge:

To address this challenge, the film made use of one of Europe’s fastest-growing problems, namely over-tourism. It leads to wear and tear as well as logistical challenges for the destinations that are affected, not to mention bad experiences for visiting tourists. The film shows that Oslo has a rich cultural offering and plenty of space for those who are willing to give us a chance.

Saving tourists

With a desire to save tourists from bad experiences, we scanned social media looking for people expressing dissatisfaction with their holidays in other European cities. We quickly found a young couple from New Zealand who, using Instagram, ironized a visit to the Louvre in Paris where it was completely impossible to get a closer look at the Mona Lisa among the sea of people and mobile telephones. The couple was contacted and offered an unforgettable 48-hour Oslo stay if they were willing to drop Paris and come right away. The couple chose Oslo and were rewarded with two days full of culture and entertainment.

The film

The documentation of the couple’s stay in Oslo became a completely different kind of travelogue. The film can be described as a tribute to Oslo and everything that makes the city what it is and evokes a clear desire to travel there. In total, the film has over 6 million views on social media, whereof 90% of these come from international viewers. The content has generated thousands of positive comments and requests to be whisked away to Oslo, which creates exciting opportunities to continue building Oslo as a brand and destination.

The film is produced by us, Waterdrop, and we thank Trigger as well as everyone who contributed to the fantastic Oslo experiences including the app Lokalii, Bar Brutus, Himkok, Astral, Vippa Oslo, Villa Stenersen, The National Gallery, Ekeberg Parken Sculpture Park, Blue, and Sofar Sounds.

Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet has also agreed that Oslo is a worthwhile destination, and our capital has been placed on Lonely Planet’s prestigious Top 10 list of cities to visit in 2018.

  • Director: Andreas Luksepp
  • Producer: Waterdrop
  • DOP: Thomas Flått, Doan Nyuguen
  • Recordings: Jens Falkenberg
  • Drone operator: Stian Fjellstad
  • Editor: Andreas Luksepp
  • Grade: Raymond Gangstad
  • Sound design: Svein Bjøntegård