It’s 2023, but people – even the most educated and powerful people on Earth still confuse Sweden with Switzerland.Global travellers, global leaders, the New York Stock Exchange, and event organisers have all done it.

Visit Sweden, the Swedish tourist board, is determined to clear the confusion and Forsman & Bodenfors has found the solution.

To end the confusion, Visit Sweden is now reaching out to its European friend in a new campaign. The ambition is to make a clear distinction between the two countries by deciding who talks about what. The first draft of the official settlement between Sweden and Switzerland has been presented and Visit Sweden is hopeful to get it signed – but is open to discussions. 

No spoiler. Watch this superbly different, ferociously clever idea:

“I know a lot of people from both Sweden and Switzerland have experienced the confusion. I certainly have. For example, a couple of months ago I was in New York, asking for directions to our New York office. But when I stepped into the lobby, I realised that I was at the Swiss General Consulate. Back out on the street, slightly embarrassed, I was even more convinced in this idea,” stated Nils Persson, chief marketing officer at Visit Sweden.

“Making Sweden stand out in the competitive world of tourism isn’t easy. And if people think that Sweden is the same country as Switzerland, that obviously makes it even harder. With this campaign, we can hopefully solve both these problems,” stated Marcus Hägglöf, creative at Forsman & Bodenfors.

The work is the first global activation launched under the long-term brand concept, A destination of a different nature.

The full proposition from the campaign can be read and signed at https://visitsweden.com/sweden-not-switzerland/ and hopefully, in the future, tourists will know that they are visiting Sweden (and not Switzerland).

Credits 
Client: Visit Sweden
Chief Marketing Officer: Nils Persson
Head of Partnerships & Project Leader: Kristina Nyström
Head of PR: Viveca Burkhardt
Project Manager: Olivia Brodd
Head of Web & Social Media and Digital Production: Malin Careliusen
Digital Analyst: Louise Blomberg
Site Manager: Helena Lundberg
Digital Producer & Coordinator: Emmie Bolmstedt

Creative Agency: Forsman & Bodenfors
Art Director: Agnes Stenberg-Schentz
Copywriter: Marcus Hägglöf
Account Director: Ann Spennare-Bengtsson
Account Executive: Linus Larsson
Agency Producer: Åsa Hammar
Designer: Sara Lemchen 
Strategist: Kaj Hettman
PR Strategist: Julia Sjödin
Head of Partnerships: Jan Holm Weber

Production Company: Bleck
Director & DOP: Marcus Svanberg
Producer: Jakob Berlin
Focus Puller: Stickan Olsson
DIT & Tech: Trausi Birgisson
Gaffer: Rolf Carlbom
Best Boy: Stefan Wallman
Sound Technician: Stefan Brag
Set Design: Malin Sköld
Stylist: Matilda Bång
Production: Dimona Fessahaye
Offline: Simon Pontén
Grade: Martin Steinberg
Online: Wille Rising
Sound: Fredrik Sundberg
Media agency: Mindshare