Stolen ads and half-ass French in Åkestam Holsts latest campaign

Cristina Blanaru Ads, All News, Creativity

In their new campaign, Swedish Convenience store Pressbyrån puts the cinnamon bun in a new light, to be precise, the glamorous glow and glitz of the early 2000´s perfume world.

The cinnamon bun, or ‘kanelbulle’ as swedes put it, is arguably the most beloved pastry in all of Sweden. It’s commonly paired with a coffee for some ‘fika’, and is even crowned with its own special celebratory day – October 4th, which this campaign centers around.

With messages like “Bûlle de Kanelle” and “J’adore Kanél de Bulle,” Pressbyrån boldly borrows from the perfume industries tricks of the trade. Pretentious models, exotic animals, and come-hither poses are among the applied assets – as they should – in the attempt to achieve cinnamon-related buzz.

Henrik Billing, creator from the team at Åkestam Holst.

We were fascinated by how fashion and perfume advertising get away with such bland messages and ‘flat’ image choices. So, we tried ourselves to see just how far we could take the idea. Needless to say, we are not that good at French.

As the campaign hit the streets and subways, the most surprising part was how the ads were received, or rather stolen, by passerby’s.

Joakim Khoury, Creative Director at Pressbyråns long-time-agency Åkestam Holst NoA.

We noticed a lot of the ads went missing from all over Stockholm and our media-partners are currently working overtime to fill in the blanks. It´s equally confusing and flattering, that the ads have struck such a chord. I haven´t seen this kind of buzz over an ad campaign since, fittingly, the early 2000’s. Cest magnifique!

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 / Retousch: Christoffer Näll
  • VFX: Ville Askelöf

Photographer: Stefanie Andersson