Not your typical Facebook campaign
Here’s something interesting I saw recently on Facebook. Finnish Dairy product manufacturer Valio are currently running a campaign that includes 4 popular bloggers. So far so normal – this is a commonly used tactic amongst brands these days. But this particular bunch of adverts made me look twice – and the main reason is the thoughtfully chosen mixture of bloggers, which differ from what I’ve seen in the past.
Pekka Hyysalo’s story is here, and if you’re after an inspiring read this morning, go read up on him. Back in 2010 Pekka missed a landing while freeskiing and suffered a brain injury so severe it was unclear whether he’d even be able to talk again. Against the odds he was not only walking but skiied again less than a year later. He founded TeamFightBack with the goal:
“MY BIGGEST MISSION: INSPIRE EVERY ONE, AND TO FIGHT BACK MY SELF!”
Pekka is definitely not the typical choice of frontman when advertising a protein rich dairy product.
Power moves
Then there’s also Oona Tolppanen, who lifts weights. Heavy weights. Girls who lift is pretty on trend right now (go check the hashtag #pikkuhiljaa or #girlsthatlift on Instagram for example), but choosing her for a mainstream brand and to front a Facebook campaign is another pretty bold move. You might expect women with athletic or muscular physiques to feature on the front of a dedicated fitness magazine – whereas this mainstream campaign not only features her, but shows off her muscles unapologetically.
The other 2 bloggers chosen are crossfitter and personal trainer Stefanie Hagelstam aka steffit – who promotes these sorts of messages – which despite being obvious within fitness communities are still at odds with how women are advertised to in mainstream media (including on Facebook):
This is actually the opposite of messages that have been marketed to women for years.
And heavily tattooed Nata, interestingly known as “White Trash Disease”, whose blog is focused slightly more on fashion and food. She is perhaps the most distinctive looking of all the bloggers – but this is far from a campaign that is only based on how they look.
Well done to Valio for making these choices and pushing alternative and varied images out there. It’s not often you see a campaign on social media that offers something worth looking at. In fact I’ve got a great example of what NOT to do when you’re a brand advertising on social media – so keep an eye out for that one coming soon.
What do you think – do you think this campaign is worth applauding?