Oslos Grumpiest Resident Returns New Halfdan Winter Campaign Generates 5m Views

Creative Boom: Oslo's grumpiest resident is back – and this time he's singing Two years after its campaign went viral, VisitOSLO and local agency NewsLab are at it again, bringing back their deadpan local for a sequel. Only this time, it's a Christmas horror musical. When cheap flights to Europe became a thing around two decades ago, me and a bunch of mates used to enjoy city breaks in random places. The first such adventure happened to be Oslo. Back in the early 2000s, it wasn't a place anyone really considered. But for some reason, we were intrigued.

Typical that we chose such an expensive destination where pints were a tenner, making it almost impossible to get drunk on a junior account executive salary. I was working for a Manchester PR agency at the time, keen to escape the grey drizzle and explore the magical Norwegian capital. I imagined clean air and blanketed snow. Cosy cafés and winter pursuits. There was much of that, bar the white stuff. I was immediately struck by how reserved everyone was, too. Which is why Halfdan feels so familiar. If you missed him the first time round, he's the star of VisitOSLO's Is It Even a City? campaign from summer 2024.

He's the gloomy local who wandered the capital explaining, with absolute sincerity, why you shouldn't bother visiting. Naturally, everyone wanted to go. Reverse psychology, or something like that. The kind of trick you pull on stubborn toddlers. The original film had more than 25 million organic views across multiple platforms and put Oslo on the map for people who'd never given it a second thought. A bit like me and my mates, two decades ago. Now he's back. It's Totally Even a City is the campaign name. And it sees Halfdan still living in Oslo.

He's still unconvinced, but this time he's giving his honest take on winter, the city's low season that runs from November to March. Has the film been just as successful? You could say so, yes. It's had more than five million organic views in its launch week. "Audiences have been asking for more Halfdan, so it felt right to bring him back," says Thea Gunnes, head of communications and marketing at VisitOSLO. "His view of Oslo is as gloomy as ever, but this time we see the city in a different season.

We wanted to focus on the winter months, traditionally seen as a less popular time to visit." The film is produced by Oslo-based agency NewsLab and directed once again by August Jorfald. But the trouble with following the same winning format is that the element of surprise has gone. So the team didn't try to recreate it. They turned it into a horror Christmas musical instead. "The first film worked because it did something unexpected, so we didn't want to simply remake it with a winter backdrop," explains Linn Isaksen, managing director at NewsLab.

"We wanted the sequel to take a new turn, and we agreed that one of the funniest things we could do was turn it into something of a musical. We've been humming the song for months, so we'll see if the rest of the world joins in." You'll have to watch the film yourself to see whether Halfdan's feelings about his home town have changed, but I will say this: it's beautifully shot and framed. Bendik Aunan, as Halfdan, is delightful. The humour and quiet affection for the place. It's all still there, just with an accompanying tune. "Sequels are often harder to make," admits Thea.

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The campaign leverages a unique character and humor to promote tourism, which is significant for the industry, while also providing actionable insights for brand strategists on engaging audiences.