There are so many reasons to love this campaign by Nordic communication agency, Welcom, for amusement park, Liseberg. The first is the uniqueness of the idea – a super team of 80-somethings trying to break a world rollercoaster record. In an advertising era where a unique idea is a rarity, this is far, FAR from the madding crowd. The second is its infectious joy. (You’ll feel it in the film when you read on.) The third is its anti-ageism. 70 is the new 17 has been done with finesse and not even a hint that it is patronising. The fourth is its all-ages appeal. Vicarious rollercoaster ride videos are crowd-magnets for young and old. The last is quirky. Its target audience is seniors. The campaign was created to draw attention to the fun of Liseberg to an older crowd as summer comes to an end and family visits slow down.
On a crisp autumn day, a group of brave seniors boarded Valkyria, Europe’s longest Dive Coaster, and smashed the record, achieving an average rider age of 80.1 years.
“Seniors are typically reached through communications centered on afternoon tea dances and flower exhibitions. We wanted to change the perception of how older adults are viewed in advertising and communication,” the agency stated.
“Many seniors are pleasure seekers with high expectations for entertainment and excitement – and they’re certainly not afraid of a challenge,” noted Joakim Brinkenberg, client director of Welcom in Gothenburg, Sweden.
The PR-driven campaign Super Seniors campaign was designed to attract media attention. “With no media budget, we needed a creative concept with strong PR potential that could generate multiple media opportunities,” added Mårten Westlund, head of PR and communications at Liseberg.
Earlier this year, Liseberg called for adventurous seniors to join an attempt to break the world record for the highest average age on a roller coaster. The previous record, set in 2003 at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in the UK, was 75.25 years.
“We were overwhelmed by the response – over 200 seniors from across Sweden signed up for the chance to be part of this historic event,” Westlund added.
The campaign generated three live segments on national TV, and approximately two hours of live broadcasting from the amusement park on two regional stations of Sweden’s national public radio broadcaster. Additionally, the Super seniors broke Liseberg’s TikTok record with 1,036,000 views.
Credits:
Agency: Welcom
PR Strategists: Adam Wladis & Robert Johnsson
Art Director: Andreas Larsson
Copywriter: Niclas Hallgren Creative Director: Jonas Sjövall
Graphic Designer: Madeleine Mei
Client Director: Joakim Brinkenberg
Account Director: Karin Källberg
Account Managers: Anna Cullberg & Linnea Axede
Interns: Felicia Niklasson & Henry Karlsson
