The Campaign #IAMTOMOFFINLAND created and performed by Manifesto and Bob the Robot has won the main category, Campaign of the Year, of the prestigious Digital Communications Awards competition in Berlin, on September 29, 2017. The Campaign #IAMTOMOFFINLAND was a campaign for the values of the movie Tom of Finland: love, courage, and freedom. The marketing and communications work was actively pursued during winter 2016–17. The work was initiated by the production company of the movie, Helsinki Filmi, and the distributor Finnkino.
Manifesto’s Client Director Jonna Varhama and Bob the Robot’s AD Henri Haka convinced the jury of the competition at live pitch events in Berlin. Winners of the competition were published at the same evening’s gala party.
“On top of the campaign #IAMTOMOFFINLAND, there were four other candidates of extremely high quality in the last phase of the competition. The winner of our category was among the last ones to be published, so we had to strain our nerves until the finish line. The rumor has it that the decision was unanimous, which makes winning this main prize even sweeter,” describes Jonna Varhama the feelings of the evening.
The objective of the campaign was to enhance the visibility of the movie Tom of Finland, increase interest in the film and also activate people to take a stand for the values of the movie – courage, love, and freedom.
“We succeeded well beyond expectations in reaching the objectives. In the picture generator, more than 150,000 Tom of Finland profile pictures were created in two weeks’ time, which is a giant figure – however you measure it. People created a lot of pictures outside Finland, too, though the user interface was in Finnish. The campaign generated almost 300 pieces of news in Finnish media and it turned into a phenomenon that became a hot topic all over Finland in comic strips, social media as well as radio and TV shows of current affairs,” summarizes Henri Haka the results of campaign.
Digital Communication Awards recognizes annually the best digital communication projects, campaigns, and innovations in Europe. The competition was established in 2011 and it is organized by Quadriga University of Applied Sciences. The jury comprises of communications professionals from all over Europe.
This year, 750 competition entries in 40 different categories participated. More information about the winners can be found at www.digital-awards.eu/winnerlist-2017.
Additional information:
The following people took part in the campaign #IAMTOMOFFINLAND: Marco Bjurström, Manuela Bosco, Chisu, Tuomas Enbuske, Jessica Grabowsky, Sandra Hagelstam, Niklas Hogner, Dome Karukoski, Teri Niitti, Bruce Oreck, Mert Otsamo, Maryam Razavi, Krista Siegfrids, Jari Sillanpää, Pekka Strang, Jenni Vartiainen, Maria Veitola, Hans Välimäki and Stefan Wallin as well as artists Teemu Keisteri, Eero Lampinen and Kaj Stenvall.
Additionally, the following people were part of the team performing the campaign: Photographer Veikko Kähkönen, Photo Editor Kasimir Häiväoja of FLC Helsinki, Stylist Mert Otsamo, Make-up-Artist Aino-Sofia Kojonen, and JCDecaux that made outdoor advertising possible. The campaign was created and performed by Bob the Robot. PR Agency Manifesto was responsible for the communications of the movie. The movie distribution of Finnkino was responsible of the marketing efforts led by Marketing Manager Anna Lujanen..
The movie Tom of Finland is directed by Dome Karukoski and produced by Helsinki Filmi. It was distributed in Finland by the movie distributor of Finnkino. The lead actors were Pekka Strang (Touko Laaksonen), Lauri Tilkanen (Veli ”Nipa” Mäkinen) and Jessica Grabowsky (Kaija, Touko’s sister). The movie had its premiere on February 24,2017.