Easy reading.
Kurt Beren Geiger on advertising, politics and my life in general.

I have a funny accent, in no matter what language I speak. I guess that’s the price you have to pay to be cosmopolitan. In Sweden it doesn’t take more than five minutes of conversation before someone asks me where I’m from. To which I humbly reply the US. In the states, they just look dumbfounded and ask me if I want “Freedom fries” with my burger or not. And in Germany, they ask me if I’m the guy who does the voice-overs for IKEA advertising. Now all this has little or nothing to do with the subject at hand. Other than to prove that I do have a right to have an opinion on subjects like the following.
IKEA in Germany is currently running an amusing campaign for their “Crazy Midsummer Prices”. The campaign’s website is supported by three TV spots – or the TV spots are supported by the website depending on your perspective. Now according to the Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet, IKEA Germany has been forced by the head offices in Sweden to pull these three spots from the air. It seems as if the brand watchdogs in Älmhult just didn’t like the stereotypical portrayal of the way their countrymen let loose and party on the longest day of the year. But if you ask me, the only real fallacy in the spots is that most Swedes dress in clothes from H&M – not traditional costumes… ;o)
But seriously, it seems to me as if this should be more of a problem (or blessing) for the Swedish Tourist Authority than for IKEA. The fact is that these “stereotypes” are widespread and that most Germans think they’re really funny. And IKEA Germany has played upon similar (mis)conceptions in the past. So why the outbreak of national morality all of a sudden? It’s not as if these types of campaigns have been proven to hurt sales in Germany or anything. On the contrary, according to an article in Svenska Dagbladet, IKEA is one of the most well-known brands in Germany. So are the folks in Älmhult just pissed because they’re never invited to these kinds of parties or is this just another example of an overzealous implementation of global brand consistency?
What I really want to say is that the problem with international brand building is that it doesn’t always allow for local creative diversity. And that strict international guidelines often result in middle-of-the-road mediocrity. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all in favor of global band consistency – but not at the expense of local insight.

Have a giggle and check out the IKEA spots:
IKEA - Midsommar in Schweden - Essen
IKEA - Midsommar in Schweden - Feieren
IKEA - Midsommar in Schweden - Morgen

Magnus has a few comments on the subject as well.
My little blurb at Adland on the subject.
An update at Adland.

If you’ve looked at my links, then you’ve seen that I’ve listed a blog from an old colleague from my days at Cappuccino Reklambyrå in Stockholm. And that’s one of the things that blogging’s all about. Linking.
So when Magnus posted an article about a photo he’d seen in his local newspaper, I decided that it was worth telling others about. And I did just that – over at Adland. Check it out: Football sponsorship rocks.

My friend Björn is political. Ok, if you want to get philosophical, we’re all political, but he’s really political. In a nice sort of way. So when he asked me to help him and a couple of his party comrades and churn out some copy for an ad that was going to be run in the largest Latvian daily newspaper Diena, I didn’t hesitate. Not for too long anyway.
So there I was, a Swedish-American living and working in Germany writing copy for an ad that was going to be read by a Latvian audience concerning Swedish public policy. Can it get any stranger than that? Sure it can. Because after I was finished, and the central committee had dissected my copy, I was then asked to contribute to the media costs… I guess that’s the body politic in a nutshell.
Anyway, it seems as if the effort has paid off. For Björn and his friends anyway. The ad ran on Diena’s coveted page 3 and the political discussion that’s followed has exceeded all expectations. In both Stockholm and Riga.
Just call me Dr. Spin.

The ad:
sorry.diena.pdf
The Op-Ed page in the Swedish tabloid “Expressen”:
Vi ber om ursäkt
The Op-Ed page in the Swedish newspaper “Östgöta Correspondenten”:
Svenskar som skäms
The Op-Ed page in the Swedish newspaper “Dala-Demokraten”:
Hån mot arbetarrörelsen

Here’s another little thing I posted over at Adland about my neighbors: Ogilvy Düsseldorf – No real beauties.