Swedish convenience store Pressbyrån wanted to drive sales and brand appreciation before the upcoming "Cinnamon Bun Day", an informal national holiday when swedes indulge in their favorite pastry – the cinnamon bun.

As the early 00-s are trending now in terms of fashion and aestethics, we launched a campaign mimicking the look and vibe of perfume-ads from the era. Exotic animals and exaggerated poses were mixed with cinnamon pastries with some made-up french slapped on top to create a campaign aimed to grab the attention, and hearts, of Swedish commuters. A high-end campaign with a premium feel, for a product that costs roughly 2€.

At its core, the campaign is a pastiche of typical perfume ads from the early 00's. The feel and style of the art direction is therefore meant to the capture the very essence of that era's aestethics. There's the exaggerated pose, exotic location, tanned physique and retouch bordering on non-human– which combined with made-up french in meticulously kerned typography in the style of perfume-brands is meant to create a look that's instantly recognizable and, in a cinnamon bun-context, kind of non-sensical and humorous.

Bulle De Kanel sparked waves of appreciation among Swedes on social media. It was brought up in podcasts and radio shows. Other brands made their own spoof-versions as hommages to the campaign. It even got its own segment on France’s biggest morning TV-show ’Telematin’. But maybe the best sign of campaign appreciation was the countless ads that were stolen from subway stations and brought back to people’s homes.

In addition, the campaign also yielded the following results:

Ad liking: 27 point increase compared to previous year. 58% vs 77%

Brand liking: 27 point increase compared to previous year. 81% vs 54%

Preference: 18 point increase compared to previous year. 72% vs 54%

Consideration for purchase at Pressbyrån: 42 point increase compared to precious year. 70% vs 28%

Has bought Pressbyrån cinnamon bun: 30 point increase compared o previous year. 56% vs 26%