The One Show

The One Show is the world's most prestigious award show in advertising and design. For over 50 years, the Gold Pencil has been regarded as one of the top prizes in the creative industry. The One Show has a rich legacy of honoring some of the most groundbreaking ideas, created by some of the most remarkable minds in creativity.

2023 One Show - Branded Entertainment

Eat a Swede

Agency McCann / Stockholm + McCann Worldgroup / London

Client The Swedish Food Federation
BACK TO RESULTS

Annual ID

OS23_BE052M

About the Work

Relevancy: Most sustainability campaigns are rather dull (we did them in the past, showing green pastures and happy Swedes – it didn’t work!) placing the solution in a distant future. With Eat a Swede, we used an entertainment format to subvert the conventions of the category. Background: By 2050, the global population will be 10 billion. To feed a growing global population, and slow the pace of climate change, we need to change the way we eat. But this urgency is not unanimous. So, we needed an idea that would stop people in their tracks and make them prioritize the subject. Brief: Sweden has one of the world's most sustainable food industries. The Swedish Food Federation wanted to share their knowledge, and in the process increase the competitive edge for Swedish food. Solution: To get noticed, we introduced a rather unpalatable alternative. Swede Meat is a start-up based on an outlandish idea: lab-grown meat made from human stem cells, preferably of Sweden’s biggest actor Alexander Skarsgard. Eat a Swede follows Swede Meat’s founder, Erik Karlsson, in his clumsy but determined attempts to launch Swedes as the new meat. The final moments of the almost credible film direct the viewers to a landing page where concrete examples on how to eat like a Swede and the importance of doing so were given, while also sharing Sweden’s methods for other countries to speed up their sustainable transition. Execution: We used the film format to be eligible for film festivals around the world (3 wins, 2 selections, 1 nomination) to enter the discussion from a cultural and philosophical angle. We invited journalists, influencers, food companies and decision-makers to an official launch during a premiere screening in Stockholm that was followed by a debate. Then, to reach as many as possible, bite-size content from the film were spread on social. Outcome: With a reach of 5 million people and 500 million impressions the campaign was quickly noticed and instigated a much-needed debate about the future of food and the answers from the Swedish food industry. Google searches for Swedish food increased with 360% and website visits for the Swedish Food Federation increased by 2400%.