Public authorities are normally boring and dry, but by using pop music to communicate corona restrictions, the Danish Health Authorities are creating a whole new approach to this type of communication. The song entered the viral top 100 in Denmark, and was used across memes and popular culture as an anthem of the time. To create communication that is actually welcomed by the public in such a difficult time is unique, and it shows a deep cultural understanding of the situation and a high level of creativity.

It’s fall 2020 and the corona epidemic is sweeping the country. Especially young people are being put to blame for the fast spread as they continue to meet on the streets and party at home. Thus, the brief was therefor simple: encourage young people to stay at home and follow the regulations. But – do it without creating further blame or bad vibes, because young people should also be allowed to be young.

To motivate the young Danish people to keep following the strict corona guidelines we gave them someone to blame – The Danish Health Authorities – personated in the director, Mr. Søren Brostrøm. Throughout four humorous 15 seconds ads Søren Brostrøm appeared in different scenarios in a glimpse as a fata morgana in the young person's subconscious - reminding them to follow the guidelines instead of bending them as many tend to do.

In one of the films our young main character wants to extend the night at the bar by playing a tune on the jukebox: “Go Home Now” - a tune produced for the occasion. The lyrics only appear briefly in the film but was released in its full length on Spotify the same day as the film.

When you’re young, you just want to be a part of your peer group. So when it’s a struggle following the corona restrictions it is not because young people don’t care. It’s because the consequences feel enormous, and much closer than what you might think. When social distancing as a young person, they feel they are saying goodbye to everything their youth is about: having a good time with friends.

So we needed to create a piece of communication that did not judge the target group or resembled the reprimands they were already getting from adults around them. We needed a piece of communication that would reach them in the situation and that would lighten the mood – at the same time as telling them what to do.

We created a band, HomeBois and launched their song on Spotify. To reach the target group in the situation, we launched the pop song so that it would play in their favourite playlists when partying at home, in bars as ‘the last song’, when shutting down (way before the young people had reached their party-limit).

We furthermore created a retro ‘album teaser spot’ which was distributed via paid Spotify spots and on national radio and used the song as a backing track in a digital film featuring the Director of the Danish Health Authorities.

The song made it to #1 on the Danish Viral Hit Charts on Spotify und our spots reached 4.000.000 people across radio and Spotify ads. Today the song still makes an appearance as it is used on memes and by influencers, e.g. on videos of people breaking corona restrictions – adding a humorous twist, to a difficult situation.

Most importantly the song and the supporting campaign contributed to Danes following the corona restrictions, whilst also being one of the countries in the World where people are most satisfied with the government's handling of the difficult situation.