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A Pilgrimage Route for Dogs, and More Great Work From Europe
With Heetch's anti-Uber play, Audible's romantic fantasy and gum that's not really gum
Finland’s capital city of Helsinki—which is hosting the World Dog Show—expects 20,000 canine visitors this weekend. In their honor, it created the “Doggy Route to Happiness,” the first-ever sightseeing tour for dogs. The route includes a pop-pup café, a dog island a DJ set for doggos, dogvertising and a stop at the Sibelius Monument. Nerdy little media detail: Helsinki partnered with Clear Channel for the dog-tailored outdoor ads, some of which are sprayed with dog urine—bottled and branded “Le Pipi”—to ensure engagement. Chef’s kiss forever to the Finns.
Next, Audible gives the romance and fantasy genres their flowers with this somewhat busy work by Fold7 London. We appreciate the dramatic contrast between narrative action and the listener’s reality. Though it reminds us of Droga5 London’s recent effort for mother company Amazon, it’s not a trope we’re tired of. We like being reminded that imbibing a story is basically hallucinating vividly.
We’re into French car service Heetch positioning itself as the anti-Uber of choice for people who live in the suburbs of Paris. BETC Paris has produced great work for developing this identity, and “Playground Reborn” is among them—a little holiday kiss to Heetch’s everyday patrons. In the midst of its various professional peregrinations, the ridesharing company noticed the ‘burbs are home to tons of basketball courts with missing or damaged nets. Which means people use them less. So, they set out to fix them, returning the swooshy sound of play to the streets. This is a great way of reinforcing Heetch’s identity while reminding us—and other ridesharing companies—that these services are part of the community, and should behave accordingly.
We’re tossing in an honorable mention from Singapore, though BBH—the agency in question—has roots as British as anything. Singapore is perhaps best known for banning chewing gum. For its 60th birthday, BBH Singapore created “Unthinkables,” a product that is … gum-like but not gum?
What makes this not gum? Do you spit it out? Do you swallow it? Who will answer these questions for us? Maybe it doesn’t matter because the product isn’t for sale “just yet,” the agency teases. Actually, the package includes a QR code that links to various “Unthinkable” campaigns BBH has orchestrated, making this more of a reel than gum, and ultimately, more of a Trojan horse than either thing.
Anyway, Unthinkables (the product) was a collab between BBH’s Innovation Lab—which tested over 60 combinations of exotic flavors and chewy ingredients—and Oni Cupcakes founder Irene Chan. Weird! But we like the early-aughts raver energy.
Angela Natividad is the European markets editor at Muse by Clios. She also writes about gaming and fashion, and whatever else she’s interested in, really. She’s based in Paris and North Italy, so if you’re local, say hi. She might eat all your food.
