Åkestam Holst creates fictional Italian folklore to sell Swedish Cinnamon Buns.
In Sweden, Cinnamon Bun Day is a thing – as the country widely celebrates this beloved pastry on October 4th. To secure both buzz and sales, Sweden’s largest convenience store chain Prezzburoni (otherwise Pressbyrån) went all-in 80´s Italo-disco.
“Bulatella Cannelle” Radio Edit on Spotify
Åkestam Holst NoA created cinnamon bun-friendly versions of classic Italian brands such as Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino and Roberto Cavalli, channeling the 80´s signature-tricks-of-the-trade.
Daniel Vaccino, Creative Director at Åkestam Holst, on the OOH executions.
“We ignored the fact that Swedish cinnamon buns have nothing in common with 80´s Italian fashion. As a matter of fact, we embraced it. The idea was to sell something cheap in the most expensive way possible.”
The agency also added a layer of pure fiction to the campaign, creating half a million views in just days – for a live-performance-clip from disco-duo “P. Buroni”. The video was presented as a nostalgic gem from the 1980s Italian Tv-show VAI. Only, it wasn´t.
The film was shot by Åkestam Holst NoA with director Christoffer Von Reis at Von Film, using legit 80´s technology to re-create the authentic vintage broadcast look.
Joakim Khoury, Creative Director and Producer of the Song, explains.
“Shooting and editing on old broadcast gear was great. None of the control, but all the analog noise. In the end it was worth it, just to capture those perfect imperfections of 80´s live-tv.”
Åkestam Holst NoA created an entire Italian 80´s-popcultural universe for the campaign. The fictional band P. Buroni comes equipped with a made-up record company with its very own imaginary roster of 80´s Italian acts – including names such as Spazzze, Falcone Primera and 61-Controler.
Joakim Khoury talks about how Åkestam Holst NoA really went down the rabbit hole, for this one.
“On a top level, it´s just a fun way of saying Cinnamon Buns for $1, but there is a lot of stuff going on under that. Hopefully people will be intrigued enough to spend some time on the campaign. Regardless, a think a dash of confusion is always a nice ingredient.”
One thing that´s not made-up in this year’s campaign, is the distribution of the song. The Radio-Edit of “Bullatella Cannelle” is currently climbing charts on multiple streaming platforms – and has been re-mixed by Norwegian artist Prins Thomas. Also, a Limited-Edition Vinyl will be released in celebration of the big day itself, cinnamon bun day on October 4th.
Client: Prezzburoni / Reitan Convenience Sverige
Agency: Åkestam Holst NoA
Creative Directors: Joakim Khoury, Daniel Vaccino
Creatives: Folke Kühlhorn, Henrik Billing
Agency Producer: Magnus Kennhed
Account Manager: Bella “Bellalissimo” Lagerquist
Client Director: Natalie Pehar N’doye
Motion Designer: Mattias Nordenham
Creative Designer: Sara Bellafesta
Social Media Director: Anna “Olivkvisten” Olivemark
Planner: Patrik Lundberg
Comms Planner: Sebastian Stüben
Music Producer: Joakim Khoury
Background Musicians: Folke “Fire” Kühlhorn & Henrik “Ice” Billing
Production Company: von Film
Director: Christoffer von Reis
Executive Producer: Peter Kydd
DOP: Jakob Möller
Service Production Company: Martini
Line Producer: Alexandru Iliescu
Offline editor: Johan Blom
Post-Production: Gangsters Post
Creative Manager på Sony Music Publishing: Victor Waldås