‘I wouldn’t come here’: Oslo’s odd tourism ad goes viral

This European city has chosen a strange way to promote itself to the rest of the world and people are loving it.

“I wouldn’t come here, to be honest.”

That is the opening line of Oslo’s latest tourism ad, which is being praised as some of the best marketing many have seen for a destination.

The clip, which goes for less than two minutes, features an expressionless 31-year-old resident named Halfdan who claims the Norway capital feels more like a village than a city.

“You can just walk from one side of town to the other in like 30 minutes – try that in New York or Paris,” he says.

He visits a museum and adds: “If you don’t have to stand in line for a couple of hours is it even worth seeing?”

Addressing the camera in front of Norwegian artist Edvard Munch’s famous ‘The Scream’, Halfdan deadpanned, it is “not exactly the Mona Lisa”.

Turning to dining, Halfdan complains: “Sometimes I just walk right in off the street and get a table, and I’m not even famous. I mean what does that tell you?”

Oslo’s latest tourism ad features a resident who claims the city is not worth visiting. Picture: Visit Oslo

The ad comes at a time when holiday hotspots across the world are grappling with massive numbers of tourists post-Covid.

Both locals and travellers are getting fed up with the crowds.

Bali introduced a $15 fee to enter the wildly popular Indonesian island in February, while Venice also made headlines for introducing an $8 entry fee in April. Japan has imposed new rules for climbing Mount Fuji, Amsterdam has banned new hotel buildings and Greece has introduced a cap on visitor numbers to the famed Acropolis in Athens.

There have been protests against tourism in multiple cities and just last month, visitors dining in Barcelona were squirted with water pistols.

The ad plays on the fact it has less crowds than other popular European destinations. Picture: Visit Oslo

However, in Oslo, a citizen survey in April last year about attitudes to tourism in the city found three out of four residents experience no problems with tourism and 82 per cent think Visit Oslo should continue to market the city to attract more visitors.

“With a backdrop where many large cities in Europe experience overtourism and ‘turismophobia’, there is very little to indicate that there is a problem in Oslo,” Visit Oslo reported of the findings.

So, while other European cities are trying to deter tourists, the Norwegian capital is seeking their attention.

The new ad, which launched in June, was led by director August Jorfald, who believes more tourists want authenticity rather than just taking pictures at iconic landmarks.

“I don’t want the Disney World. I want to be at someone’s kitchen table and drink wine from a milk glass,” he told BBC.

Oslo’s latest tourism ad features a resident who claims the city is not worth visiting. Picture: Visit Oslo

On TikTok, the ad has been viewed more than 2 million times.

“Might’ve been the best tourism ad I’ve ever seen,” one comment with over 20,000 likes read.

Another comment describing the video as “a masterpiece in reverse psychology” garnered more than 18,000 likes.

The praise continues over on YouTube.

“I think this is the best tourism commercial I’ve ever seen. And yes, it makes me want to visit Oslo,” read one top comment attracting thousands of likes in support.

“Norwegian humour is on another level,” said another.

“By far the best bit of marketing I’ve seen in a long while. Give them a raise! Oh wait it’s Norway, they’re already paid properly,” quipped someone else.

“A brilliant ad. It epitomises the two weeks I spent in Norway last spring Oslo and the rest of the country is beyond amazing. Looking forward to another trip back, everything he said was what I experienced and more,” praised a tourist.