Iceland's New Tourism Campaign Is a Scream, Perfect for 2020

We all scream for Iceland!

M&C Saatchi Group’s first campaign for Promote Iceland invites folks to release their 2020 frustrations by visiting a website and recording their screams for broadcast via big-ass speakers in remote regions of the Nordic nation. Some scenic sites you can yell at include the Snæfellsjökull glacier and by the Skógarfoss waterfall, and you’ll receive a commemorative video of your screams being played.
 
This amusing clip, “Let It Out!,” from M&C Saatchi UK, SS+K and Skot directing duo Samuel & Gunnar, explains the project at maximum volume:

The campaign stemmed from an Iceland visit by M&C Saatchi senior copywriter Camila Gurgel and senior art director Ieva Paulina.

“The freeing feeling that the country’s unbelievable landscapes give you is something out of this world,” Gurgel tells Muse. “We were looking for something that would help people experience that feeling, even when they are not able to travel. And in such difficult times when anxiety levels are incredibly high, and people are literally trapped in their homes, we thought this was especially relevant.”

She adds: “Iceland is also known for its extremely friendly people and for being one of the most sustainable countries, so making this kind gesture to the world couldn’t be more aligned with its identity. And in addition to that, Iceland’s spread-out spaces and very small population—to give you an idea, one of the actors in the film is also one of Iceland’s biggest music critics—make it No. 1 on the list of the places we should go and finally let it out as soon as traveling is possible again.”

M&C Saatchi nailed the concept “three minutes before our creative review,” Gurgel says. “A slide reading ‘Send Your Scream to be Released in Iceland!,’ with a badly positioned picture of someone screaming, became the core campaign idea.”

Once the team learned about Primal Scream Therapy, which was all the rage—literally—in the early 1970s, they realized the “Let It Out!” conceit “wasn’t just funny but also helpful,” potentially, because it lets cooped-up viewers shout out their self-isolation stress, says Paulina.

Some Icelanders aren’t amused, and they’ve threatened to switch off the speakers, lest screams from distant lands shatter their peace of mind. Regardless, after launching last week, the quirky work made a big noise about Icelandic tourism, with copious media coverage worldwide.

Promote Iceland began running the work last week in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Canada, and Denmark.

Alas, the Home of the Brave is a hot mess of Covid-19 infection, so Iceland won’t let Americans visit right now. That’s something else to scream about.

Speakers were placed in the following locations:

Viðey, Reykjavik, Iceland
Rauðisandur, Westfjord, Iceland
Kálfshamarsviti, North Iceland
Djúpivogur, East Iceland
5estarfjall, Reykjanes, Iceland
Skógarfoss, South Iceland
Snæfellsjökull, West Iceland

CREDITS

Promote Iceland
“Looks like you need to let it out”

SS+K
Partner: Lenny Stern
Executive Creative Director: Stevie Archer
Managing Director, Production + Operations: John Swartz
Agency & Client Lead: Amy Frisch
Account Director: José Salgado
Agency Producer: Craig von Wiederhold
Creative Director: Daniel Bremmer
Senior Strategist: Elena Claro
Managing Director, Strategy Group: Kevin Skobac

M&C Saatchi UK
Camila Gurgel: Senior Copywriter
Ieva Paulina: Senior Art Director

Peel
Managing Directors: Magnús Magnússon, Egill Thordarson
Designer: Einar Guðmundsson
Animator: Arnar Jónsson

M&C Saatchi TALK (Global PR Hub)
Chris Hides: Global Managing Director
Sophie Hayes: Director
Lauren Hunt-Morgan: Senior Associate Director
Jade Beaty: Senior Account Manager
Maia Quinn: Account Manager

Firefall
Founder, Chief Technologist: Scott Park
Producer: Nancy Tran

Skot Productions
Directors: Samuel & Gunnar
Executive Producer: Hlynur Sigurðsson
Head of Production / Producer: Birna Paulina Einarsdóttir