V&S Group owns both the Danish AALBORG aquavit brands and the Swedish brand O.P. Anderson. AALBORG aquavit brands are marketed and sold abroad, while O.P. Anderson is sold in Denmark. It made sense to combine all the brands in one campaign, uniting the entire aquavit portfolio. V&S and Kunde & Co took up the challenge and developed a creative concept that gathered all the brands under one campaign umbrella. By focusing on a major current trend - Nordic cuisine - Kunde & Co and V&S found a way to bring all the aquavit brands together in a universe built around the Nordic values of purity, freshness and simplicity.

V&S broadens the target group
The various products are gathered and incorporated into the "Essence of the North" campaign. The campaign is a  tribute to the Scandinavian lifestyle and manifests itself through the different seasons and nature's ever-changing cycle. V&S and Kunde & Co used three beautiful fairies to dramatise this universe, symbolising the three Scandinavian countries - Denmark, Sweden and Norway - and more importantly binding the campaign to the Nordic  fairytale tradition. This added a surreal touch, so the campaign could stand out in a new and fresh way. It also presented an opportunity to attract new customers.

The campaign raises awareness of V&S
From December 2006, the "Essence of the North" campaign was communicated through advertisements in Scanorama (the SAS inflight magazine which has a readership of 1.8m), through light box advertisements at Copenhagen Airport and on the website www.aquavit.com. The elegant execution has paved the way for a reinterpretation of the aquavit category. Independent analysis showed that the campaign raised consumers' perception of V&S and their understanding of the aquavit category. Over 50% of respondents said that the campaign greatly raised their opinion of V&S and of V&S' aquavit products.