Hydro's new campaign, aimed at convincing young Norwegians that learning science is both exciting and fun, was kicked off on Wednesday. The main message is: "There are many young engineers out there. We cant wait to see them grow up."
Two action-packed short films will be broadcast on television in Norway after school hours on MTV and TV3 over the next three weeks, aiming to reach budding engineers. The films will also be aired on TV2 later in the evening to reach parents.
The campaign demonstrates Hydro’s drive to raise interest in and knowledge about sciences. It is also meant to attract visitors to the newly opened national science center ’VILVITE’ in Bergen, which Hydro has supported by contributing NOK 100 million.
"Our aim is to show that engineering can be fun, creative and important. I think we’ve succeeded," says Hanne Haugen, responsible for brand communication in Hydro.
"Never before has Hydro targeted its communications at such a young audience. We hope, of course, that these children will one day become Hydro employees, customers or partners."
Impossible stunts...
The film clips are purposely made to look amateurish, like many of the home-made films published on web sites popular with teenagers, such as YouTube.
In one film, a group of 13-year-olds reroute a train track into a loop. In the other clip, a bunch of kids take over dad’s car with a remote control – with dad still in the car – driving it through a garage and up on two wheels. The kids burst out laughing when they realize their power.
"The films are packed with experimentation and impossible stunts. They show situations where children, through the art of engineering, get the upper hand on grown-ups – in a playful and comical way, of course," says Haugen.
In addition to the television spots, web campaigns will appear on Norwegian internet news sites such as vg.no and dagbladet.no. There will also be a web campaign on Hydro's web site to stimulate curiosity about the future – see link in the right-hand column. An interactive production will demonstrate some of the world’s most important inventions and offer other interactive engineering activities such as ‘build your own bridge’ and ‘drill your own oil well’