Figurehead Emilie Nereng and Norway manager Anders Nilsen at the premiere of "The hunt for the keys". Photo: Stian Sønsteng
Power is bringing together Norway, Sweden and Denmark in the advertising series «The hunt for the keys», where a Danish idea has been turned into a Nordic initiative.
– The goal is for people to notice us and come to us to shop. That is why we took it to the next level, says Johannes Ittelin-Brynildsen.
He is Nordic marketing manager at Power, and plays a central role as compère during the premiere party at Klingenberg Cinema in Oslo on 7 July.
Danial Ejaz Bhatti (left) and Snorre Berg-Domaas of Power Norway appear in the commercials. Photo: Stian Sønsteng
“The Hunt for the Keys” is a series of three advertising films of around five minutes that are broadcast at scheduled times on linear TV in the three countries, featuring familiar faces and Power employees from Norway, Sweden and Denmark. In Norway, the series is fronted by influencer Emilie Nereng, while Sweden’s Anis Don Demina and Denmark’s Havshen Nabaz from the comedy duo Hav & Kamal have the corresponding leading roles in Sweden and Denmark.
Annonse
The premiere party in Oslo began with Emilie Nereng abseiling 30 metres down from the roof of Hotel Continental. Ittelin-Brynildsen interviewed her, and the around 100 invited influencers who were queuing outside the cinema to walk the red carpet. Inside the foyer, they were interviewed by celebrity journalists from, among others, VG, Se og Hør, Dagbladet, 730.no and TV 2, and during the premiere screening a number of people were on the speakers’ list, including Anders Nilsen, managing director of Power Norway.
Thomas Marthinsen (left), Jon Lyngra, Snorre Berg-Domaas and Truls Vikane are interviewed by Nora Gundersen Kvernmo, all Power employees. Photo: Stian Sønsteng
Strengthened in the Nordics
He tells the trade magazine Elektronikkbransjen that the initiative is a joint effort between Power in the three countries. The series is based on a campaign that was developed in Denmark last year in connection with Power’s 10th anniversary there, and Nielsen admits that at the time he was a little sceptical.
Lead actress Emilie Nereng arrived at the premiere party by abseiling down from the neighbouring building. Photo: Stian Sønsteng
– When we saw their results, however, it was difficult not to get engaged, and the result in this year’s version, which also includes Norway and Sweden, has become absolutely fantastic, says Nielsen.
Annonse
The cultural and linguistic differences between the countries have become part of the concept.
– We have made a bit of fun out of what does not work, for example the words that mean completely different things in the various languages, says Ittelin-Brynildsen.
Nielsen believes cooperation between the countries has been strengthened after Power was also established in Sweden.
– The biggest language barrier is Finland, where it is mostly English. What is fun is that we have nevertheless become very strong together, says the Norway manager.
Johannes Ittelin-Brynildsen was the compère, and interviewed the influencers queueing to walk the red carpet. Photo: Stian Sønsteng
Engaged and proud
Marketing manager Ittelin-Brynildsen says it is precisely the language that is the reason Finland is not part of the initiative.
Annonse
In Norway, the advertising series was broadcast linearly on TV 2 at 7 pm on three Fridays in July.
– In this way, we want to use today’s media landscape actively, combined with the fact that we have invited well-known personalities to play themselves. The aim is for people to notice us, become engaged, where we are present in the various channels that appeal to the different age groups, Ittelin-Brynildsen tells the trade magazine Elektronikkbransjen.
He says the response internally within the company has been positive.
– We have a culture of being brave, of doing things that perhaps not everyone else has done before. When you get that flutter in your stomach, well, then we give it a go. It has been easy to get people on board, and we feel that our colleagues are engaged and proud of what we are going to show, says Ittelin-Brynildsen.
The invited influencers were interviewed by, among others, VG, Se og Hør, Dagbladet, 730.no and TV 2. Photo: Stian Sønsteng
He is supported by Nielsen.
– The enthusiasm we see here today is part of our winning culture, says the country manager for Norway.
From shop floor to film set
The two Norwegian Power employees appearing in the series are sales managers Snorre Berg-Domaas and Danial Ejaz Bhatti. They play Power staff who assist the main character, Emilie Nereng, in the mission.
– I don’t know why it ended up being us, but I suppose we’re known for putting ourselves out there a bit, says Berg-Domaas.
"The hunt for the keys" premiered at Klingenberg Cinema in Oslo. Photo: Stian Sønsteng
Behind the series is the Danish production company Friday, and during filming in Copenhagen the two gained an insight into how a TV production works.
– Filming just one scene can easily take an hour, even though perhaps only ten seconds are used. It was very different and more time-consuming than I had thought, but great fun, says Bhatti.
Most of the script had already been written, but some lines had to be adapted from the Danish script into Norwegian.
– We perhaps improvised 20 per cent, says Bhatti.
He also does not rule out more roles in the future.
– None of us has had assignments as actors before, but now both Snorre and I have got a taste for it, says Bhatti.
