Oslo Swears 'It's Totally Even a City.' There's Singing and Dancing, So It Must Be True

A sequel to the beloved 2024 tourism campaign

“I hate the winter in Oslo. I don’t mind the cold, to be honest. It’s just, everything becomes so … cozy. It feels a bit like a cult, you know? Like living in some kind of creepy fairytale. A little snow, and suddenly everyone is happy and jolly for no good reason.”

With that preamble, Halfdan—a crabby Norwegian everyman played by actor Bendik Aunan—kicks off the sequel to “Is It Even a City?” That 2024 initiative from Visit Oslo and agency NewsLab became one of the most talked about tourism ads in recent memory.

A masterwork of reverse psychology, the spot’s deadpan humor sold the Norwegian capital as an awesome destination by disparaging its laid back, scenic, friendly vibe as “lacking” compared to the glitz and tumult of Paris and New York.

Alas, there was no singing and dancing. But now there is, with frowning Halfan and smiley locals selling the storyline for all they’re worth.

The former grumpily decries the city’s welcoming spirit as “absurd,” while those around him radiate campy contentment, crooning: “Everyone should come here. We promise you’ll be thrilled. And happy. And jolly. At least you will be chilled!” And they gleefully roll extra “O’s” when they sing “Oslooooo.” Halfdan just can’t stand it.

“The target audience is largely the same: curious international travelers looking for authentic urban experiences,” says Visit Oslo marketing chief Thea Gunnes. “However, compared with 2024, we placed greater emphasis on Oslo as a year-round destination. Tourism growth has increasingly been driven by visits outside the peak summer season, particularly during winter, and we wanted the campaign to reflect that development.”

Oslo recorded 6.9 million guest nights in 2025, up 3 percent from 6.7 million the previous year. Through August 2026, visits rose 6 percent to 4.8 million compared to the same period two years ago, prior to the first campaign.

August Jorfald, who directed the original, also returns this time around. He delivers a wacky message anchored by Aunan’s delightfully downbeat and increasingly bedeviled performance. What worked the first time around still works. Yes, we lose the sense of novelty that served the first ad so well. But this self-aware takeoff on retro TV musicals can’t be beat. And the presentation offers some unexpected (and mildly dark) elements to keep viewers on their toes.

When planning the sequel, Jorfald “definitely felt some pressure bringing Halfdan back, and I was very skeptical to do so at first,” he tells Muse. “I really didn’t want to make exactly the same film again—only it’s winter. Luckily, Visit Oslo are cool people and agreed” to go in a somewhat different direction.

But … why make a musical?

“It was my colleague, Joakim, who first suggested it, and I instantly loved it,” Jorfald says. “I wanted Halfdan to dislike the cozyness of the city more than he had an actual problem with the cold winter. And what’s more annoyingly cozy than a musical?”

The best bit arrives near the end—and it’s not so cozy. Creepy kids clutching candles lambast our anti-hero for his “anti-words” and pursue him through the forest. This sequence packs a loopy Xmas/Twilight Zone punch—and the bunny that threatens to “burn you at the bonfire and feast on your tasty human flesh!” nods to Halloween. (Oh, Osloooooooo. You so cray!)

In the end, Halfdan grudgingly decides to stay one more week. Dude doesn’t look thrilled, exactly. But he seems pretty chill. Which is the next best thing.

As for tales from the set, Jorfald recalls that the singing deer “was supposed to be a moose. I actually bought a moose head and we had it in the car with us the whole day, but when we got to the location (Frognerseteren), we weren’t able to hang it on the wall. So, we just used a deer head that already hanging there instead”

“It’s still there, if anyone is interested in meeting it,” he says. “Might not be as talkative, though.”

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