Andreas Dahlqvist is the CEO and chief creative officer of the creative agency NORD DDB. Formerly chief creative officer at Grey New York, he led the company to the top U.S. ranking and No. 2 globally at Cannes Lions in 2016. With a career spanning McCann Erickson and DDB, he’s known for groundbreaking campaigns for brands like McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, and Volvo, earning numerous creative accolades and a spot on Creativity and AdAge’s “Top 50” list of advertising innovators.
Simon Higby, a creative force at NORD DDB Stockholm, boasts numerous accolades, including DDB’s first Titanium Lion, a Cannes Digital Grand Prix, five Eurobest Grand Prix awards, and 20+ Cannes Lions. He formally led creative at DDB Copenhagen.
Martin Hovnor has been with NORD DDB for over 18 years and currently serves as a partner and their senior creative. His accolades include a Cannes Grand Prix, Cannes Titanium, and +30 Cannes Lions. He also holds two Grand Prix in Eurobest.
The trio was instrumental in creating “The Fun Theory” (Rolighetsteorin), a Volkswagen advertising campaign focused on improving people’s behaviors and helping them see the fun in acting responsibly—especially regarding driving more environmentally friendlier cars. The campaign became well-known after their video featuring a flight of stairs at a Swedish metro station being transformed into a working piano (to encourage people to take the stairs instead of the escalator) went viral.
1) What sparked the idea of blending fun with behavioral change in an advertising campaign? And, how did the insights from behavioral science and environmental issues initially shape the project?
Simon: The campaign, to me, is essentially a mission statement. The insight for the idea came from a conversation Martin and I had with a VW engineer named Stefan Darlene. If I remember correctly, we were discussing the DSG gearbox. Stefan mentioned, “We design it to be fun to use so more people will utilize it.” That ideology was the backbone of our campaign. Often in advertising, client discussions about their products lead to intriguing one-liners that spark creative ideas, and that’s precisely what happened here.
Andreas: Additionally, the initial wave of vehicles had positioned themselves as environmentally friendlier alternatives to regular cars. However, they often came with the compromise of being somewhat different from what one would typically expect from a car. It was almost like there had to be a tradeoff for the sake of being environmentally friendlier. By the time we received the brief, several waves of environmentally friendlier cars had already been introduced, prompting us to think about what next step to take. We sought to identify a truthful narrative that would entice people to see what they had to offer. Unlike the previous compromises, the technology we were focusing on didn’t necessitate any. We aimed to show that driving these cars was as enjoyable as driving traditional ones. While electric vehicles today, like Tesla, are outperforming their gas counterparts, that wasn’t the case back then. Our message was clear: now you don’t have to compromise on the fun aspect of driving, which should encourage more people to switch to these types of vehicles.
Martin: Exactly. As Simon mentioned, apart from the DSG gearbox, there was also a range of cars they labeled BlueMotion. These models managed to achieve more power with less emissions. Essentially, it was about attaining more power and motion with lesser emissions, which defied common perceptions about environmentally friendlier cars being slow and small at the time. This campaign was a way to highlight this major advantage. What was interesting was that we didn’t just promote the car as a more enjoyable driving experience, but we presented it as a part of Volkswagen’s broader initiative to encourage people to opt for this new type of car. The essence was to show how making the right choice could be a more enjoyable and fun experience. This narrative extended into the Fun Theory campaign, where we demonstrated not just a singular benefit, but how a fun approach could alter behavior on a large scale, making the better choice also more appealing and enjoyable.
2) With so many behaviors that fun could influence, how did you prioritize which ones to focus on for the campaign?
Martin: We aimed to keep it simple. Our main focus was on positive reinforcement. We identified actions that were deemed mundane or a bit challenging, like throwing trash in the bin which many people often overlook. Our goal was to pinpoint such behaviors and make them fun—to encourage a positive change.
Simon: We brainstormed in a meeting room, listing down negative behaviors and poor choices people often make—for instance, taking the escalator instead of the stairs, or not recycling cans. We generated a long list and explored how fun could rectify these poor behaviors. For example, we turned the recycling bin into an arcade machine. This brainstorming process yielded a variety of ideas.
Andreas: Production reality also played a significant part since this was a scrappy project. Some constructs, like the piano stairs, were more elaborate, demanding a lot from our limited budget and even requiring hands-on involvement from the team. While the experiential part of the campaign was core to our idea, the budget was tight. It was crucial to choose actions that were not only impactful but also feasible to execute within our means.
Martin: It’s a challenge to predict which idea will resonate the most. In advertising, sometimes multiple versions of the same thought are developed, yet only one strikes a chord. While the bin had its moments of recognition, the stairs (due to its visual and interactive appeal) took off significantly, capturing people’s attention.
Andreas: The stairs were indeed our main bet. Our challenge was to make taking the regular stairs as appealing as the escalator, and the piano idea made the experience visually and experientially pleasing. From an advertising perspective, this campaign went beyond a social experiment; it invited people to interact with the ad, spending more time with it, thus encapsulating the Fun Theory within the ad itself. This approach was somewhat groundbreaking, providing a new approach in advertising, which was engaging the audience actively in the campaign narrative.
Simon: The campaign’s launch was rather humble; initially, we only released the piano video in Swedish on mine and Martin’s Facebook pages. Surprisingly, it gained traction and quickly became viral, even surpassing Susan Boyle’s trending video from Britain’s Got Talent. Such organic reach might be harder to achieve today given the algorithmic control over content dissemination today, but back then it was quite remarkable.
3) The contest component of the project encouraged users to come up with their own fun theories. Were there any entries that stood out or provided insights you hadn’t considered?
Simon: One memorable winner was Kevin Richardson. The beauty of the campaign was witnessing someone from the public, inspired by the concept, becoming a spokesperson for Volkswagen on Fox News—as an ad agency it was incredibly rewarding to get this kind of exposure for the campaign. Another standout entry was influenced by a marketing tactic similar to Liquid Death, where the idea was to make healthy food appear like unhealthy food to entice kids. For example, packaging carrots like chips. This thinking mirrored Liquid Death’s current approach of packaging water to resemble an energy drink, which I found quite clever.
Martin: The response to the campaign was astonishing. At that time, having a viral video was a significant achievement, and our campaign achieved that. However, what amazed me more was the level of engagement from the public. People invested their time to conceptualize and submit their own ideas, with some even creating renders. It was astonishing to see this level of interaction in a competition tied to an advertisement from a multinational company. We received an overwhelming number of entries, well over a hundred. Among those, Kevin Richardson’s speed camera lottery idea was brilliant, and we brought it to life along with another idea focused on promoting seat belt usage. The latter involved disabling the entertainment system in the back seat unless the seat belt was fastened. Although not all ideas were suited for integration into the campaign, the depth and breadth of creative thinking were truly impressive.
4) On a personal level, how has the Fun Theory project impacted your lives (e.g., your approach to creativity, a richer understanding of how our environment impacts our lives, etc.)?
Martin: The project significantly impacted us. Although it may not have drastically changed our lives, we learned a lot during that period. Seeing how the campaign unfolded and how people interpreted and adapted it was fascinating. Its scientific yet simplistic, almost child-like approach contributed to its success. The campaign was easy to grasp and enjoy. With regards to positive reinforcement, especially now as a parent, the project gave me a fresh perspective. One key takeaway was how a change in description or presentation can potentially alter perception and engagement—much like repackaging carrots as chips did, or repackaging stairs as a big piano [juxtaposed an escalator] to encourage stair use. The idea of “nudging” through innovative marketing strategies is something that continues to intrigue me.
Andreas: Professionally, the project refined my approach toward advertising. It solidified the belief that communications should start from what interests people, rather than just pushing a message. Traditional marketing emphasizes messaging, but creating content that resonates with people, that they want to engage with and share, demands understanding their perspective. This campaign was a real game changer in demonstrating how to create value around brands by moving away from sender-receiver logic, to a more interactive and appealing approach. The Fun Theory showcased that engagement on a larger scale is possible when communication starts with understanding what drives and motivates people. This lesson has stayed with me in all my marketing endeavors going forward—emphasizing the importance of understanding and integrating the audience’s motivations to make them part of the campaign’s narrative.
Simon: Building on Andreas’ point, this principle is also crucial when selling ideas to clients. It’s about understanding what excites them—whether it’s an award or extending their reach—and communicating in a manner that resonates. On a personal level, the Fun Theory reinforced that enjoying the work process leads to better outcomes. Seeing our team immersed in, and having fun with the project, especially in the piano video, undoubtedly contributed to the campaign’s vibrant and engaging nature. This experience underscores that the energy and enjoyment we put into our work is palpable and can significantly influence how the audience perceives and interacts with the output.
5) The legacy of Fun Theory has certainly lived on. What has been the most surprising and/or rewarding in terms of the positive ripple effects that the campaign has had across the globe?
Martin: Like Andreas mentioned, this was a new approach at the time. We had certain factors working in our favor, such as the emergence of social media. Although Facebook had been around for a couple of years, its influence really exploded around that time, helping to foster a community around our campaign. To me, this was proof that standout efforts could have significant reverberations. For instance, shortly after Simon and I launched the videos on our private platforms—without any extravagant launch event—a local friend’s mother-in-law, who lives in San Francisco, organically shared it with him because she noticed it took place in Stockholm, where we’re from. So, it took just one day for our message to travel around the globe, from Stockholm to San Francisco and back. This showed me the potential of pushing boundaries in advertising, which still encourages the exploration into new areas to this day. The campaign certainly struck a chord and resonated globally, offering a great learning experience in advertising.
Andreas: I echo Martin’s sentiments. These kinds of groundbreaking examples are essential to evolving the discipline of marketing. Although we experimented with various campaigns and ideas during that period, the Fun Theory campaign turned out to be significantly impactful. Even years later, it remains a testament to the importance of starting with what interests people rather than a brand-first approach. This campaign showcased that effective communication is not a one-way street, but rather a dialogue with the audience. It provided us an opportunity to contribute to reshaping the creative landscape, moving away from the traditional broadcast methodology that was already losing its efficacy during that period. Such revolutionary ideas are crucial for any industry, acting as catalysts for substantial change.
Martin: At NORD, we continue to emphasize the importance of integrating brands within pop culture, a principle this campaign epitomized. Unlike traditional methods focused on broadcasting messages, this campaign fostered discussions, inviting people to partake. It demonstrated how advertising could seamlessly blend into people’s lives, making it more engaging and relevant.
Andreas: I also recall our discussions concerning the name, aiming for the right tone that conveyed our curiosity while encouraging public engagement. Martin, being the writer among us, played a crucial role in articulating our message appropriately. The friendly demeanor of the campaign set it apart during a time when “cool” advertising was the trend. The campaign’s identity, especially with the Fun Theory tag, almost made it a sub-brand, which could have been intimidating to some clients. However, in this instance, it added significant value. The Fun Theory became synonymous with VW’s BlueMotion technology, creating a unique campaign that retained its brand essence while being intriguing and approachable.
Martin: The campaign’s success was also attributed to Volkswagen’s trust in us, allowing us the freedom to execute it as envisioned. It established the Fun Theory as a brand of its own, a feat not commonly seen in advertising campaigns. Our initial goal of attracting 30,000 visitors to the site was vastly exceeded, ultimately leading to millions of site visitors for Volkswagen, illustrating the campaign’s monumental global impact.
Simon: That was a remarkable outcome—the surge in traffic to VW’s website through the Fun Theory platform. Those millions of hits outperformed almost all other digital advertising efforts in Sweden at the time. This reaffirms that you don’t need to showcase product images to attract people; selling a mindset can effectively draw them in to learn more about the product. This revelation was, to me, one of the coolest aspects of the entire project.
