Many have asked why Oslo is making tourism ads starring a man who keeps telling tourists not to visit? But, following the viral success of ‘Is it even a city?’, Oslo’s grumpiest resident, Halfdan returns in a Halloween/Christmas horror musical that has already generated more than five million organic views in its first week online. Judge for yourself and watch the film here
The ‘Is it even a city’ campaign, launched in summer 2024, introduced Halfdan, a deadpan Oslo sceptic whose message, “Don’t come here,” had exactly the opposite effect. With more than 25 million organic views across platforms, the campaign put Norway’s capital, and everything it has to offer, in front of audiences worldwide.
Two years on, Halfdan is back, still an Oslo resident. But, this time, he turns the ire of his honest opinion to winter in Oslo.
“Audiences have been asking for more Halfdan, so it felt right to bring him back. His view of Oslo is as gloomy as ever, but this time we see the city in a different season. We wanted to focus on the winter months, traditionally seen as a less popular time to visit,” said Thea Gunnes, head of communications and marketing at VisitOSLO.
Just like the original, the sequel ‘It’s totally even a city’ is created by the Oslo-based marketing agency NewsLab and directed by August Jorfald.
This time, the unexpected twist in the tale comes in the form of a horror Christmas musical.
“The first film worked because it did something unexpected, so we didn’t want to simply remake it with a winter backdrop. We wanted the sequel to take a new turn, and we agreed that one of the funniest things we could do was turn it into something of a musical,” says Linn Isaksen, managing director of NewsLab. “We’ve been humming the song for months, so we’ll see if the rest of the world joins in.”
Winter is Oslo’s low season, running from November to March. While the days are darker and the streets quieter, it is also when Oslo is at its most surprising.
“Sequels are often harder to make. Luckily, Oslo has far more stories than we could ever tell in a single campaign. With this film, we wanted to show that Oslo is a fantastic winter destination, while keeping the humour, understatement and affection for the city that so many people loved in the first film,” said Gunnes.
While Halfdan remains unconvinced, visitors may find there are plenty of reasons to consider Oslo this winter: from world-class museums, festive lights and cosy cafés to floating fjord saunas, winter swimming and easy access to cross-country skiing and sledging in snow-covered forests. For more inspiration.
Read VisitOSLO’s Halfdan’s Winter Guide to Oslo:
