A TV commercial advertising a Swiss milk brand called “Heidi” was shot in New Zealand, a move that has angered Swiss tourism officials in the real Heidiland. 

"/> A TV commercial advertising a Swiss milk brand called “Heidi” was shot in New Zealand, a move that has angered Swiss tourism officials in the real Heidiland. 

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Heidi ad shot in New Zealand angers Swiss

A TV commercial advertising a Swiss milk brand called “Heidi” was shot in New Zealand, a move that has angered Swiss tourism officials in the real Heidiland. 

Published: 13 July 2011 16:01 CEST
Heidi ad shot in New Zealand angers Swiss
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The commercial, portraying a typical Swiss setting with a merry Heidi frolicking in the bucolic Alps surrounded by peaceful cows, was actually shot in New Zealand using a local actress and local animals, said a report on the 20 Minuten newspaper.

Migros, the Swiss supermarket chain that commissioned the advert, argued that it needed a summer setting and filming had to take place place during the Swiss winter in 2004.

The move angered officials in Switzerland’s Heidiland, a popular tourist area stretching between Bad Ragaz and Amden.

“It’s not very logical,” Björn Caviezel, the head of Heidiland Tourism, told 20 Minuten.

“We could have provided an ideal setting for Migros. And perhaps we could have mutually benefited from the situation. Also, coming here from Zurich is certainly a lot cheaper than a 24-hour flight to New Zealand,” said Caviezel.

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‘The Vikings also wore helmets’: Danes draw on marauding past for cycle safety ad

The Danish Road Safety Council has put the Scandinavian country's Viking past to a hilarious new use: convincing macho Danish men to wear cycle helmets.

Published: 10 June 2021 19:15 CEST
'The Vikings also wore helmets': Danes draw on marauding past for cycle safety ad
Svend the Viking does not want to ruin his braids. Photo: &Co

The council’s new advert, “Helmet has always been a good idea”, brings together two somewhat incongruous aspects of Danish life — the country’s love of cycling and its Viking past, using humour to show up some of the silly reasons people give themselves not to wear cycle helmets. 

The advert starts with the imposing Viking chief Svend rousing his men for their next invasion of England. To rhythmic chanting and the blowing of horns, he mounts his steed, brandishing his thick and heavy sword. 

Then, suddenly, his young son comes running bearing his helmet. Svend ignores him, and utters a cry: “To the ships!”. 

After a pause, one of his men nervously asks: “shouldn’t you have a helmet on, Svend?”. 

“No, it’s annoying and it makes my scalp itch,” Svend responds sheepishly. 

“I’m a careful rider,” he adds, slightly desperately.

“What do I do when I get there? Run around in a silly helmet?” he adds. 

Then he roars, “It ruins my braids!” 

It’s only when his wife comes out that he finally dons his gleaming headpiece and with the cheers of his fellow marauders all around him makes his way to the longships. 

Then the slogan — “A helmet has been a good idea for all time” — appears on the screen in rune-like writing. 

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