Long story short, yes, concrete can be as durable and as powerful as love. And, as unbreakable as time. But why would anyone associate these three seemingly opposite concepts with each other? Branding.news invites you to read the rest of the story to find out what the different concepts have in common. We guarantee that you’ll be surprised as much as we were when we first had a glimpse at this cute, lovable ad that awaits to be discovered!
Written by Strays—an ad agency in Stockholm with storytelling running through its veins—and inspired by Formbetong, a company specializing in giving birth to buildings that last, the campaign titled “Alla tiders betong” (Swedish for “A Concrete Story”) focuses on concrete, tenderness, and time. According to the author and its muse, the solid material can become one of the coziest spots where love just blooms and where hours and minutes seem to stay still.
The cinematic-like adventure presents a series of short stories that unfold on an unusual roof of a building that gradually becomes a witness to a bunch of teenagers having fun and falling in love with each other. The opening scene leaves us half a century ago, in the ’70s, where youngsters sing, laugh, flirt, kiss, and experience the feeling of jealousy. You know, the usual stuff.
The seventies end with another beautiful stage in one’s life and unlock another decade: the ’80s. The viewers are left in the same spot only the characters change. Teenagers are suddenly wearing highly-colored clothes, writing graffiti on the building’s walls, but their feelings spin around the same emotions: love on one hand, and jealousy on the other.
The ’90s are presented a bit more effervescently. A couple of teenagers break up after finding out that the girl’s best friend intervened in the relationship. One love story ends in order to let another one take shape…
All tales are wonderful and although they happened years apart, they all have one thing in common: the background. A concrete building with a roof ready to welcome new generations to write their own love stories.
“We were thrilled with the idea that each concrete building has several lives, since concrete is incredibly durable, and is rediscovered by every new generation. And since Formbetong cherished the idea that the concept should first and foremost be about people and not concrete, the 5-minute short film depicts young love throughout several decades,” explains Christofer Weider, Art Director at the Stockholm-based agency, in an email.
Formbetong has been ‘pouring’ solid buildings on the streets of Sweden since 2003 and is now the concrete work specialist in the country. With the current marketing and communication concept, the brand wants to dramatize the central part of the company’s business, namely that all generations that are about to come will be happy to benefit from the buildings that Formbetong is working on today. Oh, and let’s not forget… to write their own love stories on their concrete roofs!