Helsinki Partners launches celebrity-targeted tourism campaign

Moodily lit, with cinematic production, Helsinki Partners’ short film ‘Operation: Make Pamela a Hyytiäinen’, embraces celebrity culture and a classy aesthetic rare in its genre.

Responding to Pamela Anderson’s expressed interest in embracing her Finnish heritage, the film stars Finnish actor Janne Hyytiäinen, who shares the surname and promotes Finland’s straightforward name-change process.

Produced in-house by Helsinki Partners, the initiative aims to attract attention through a very of-the-moment celebrity outreach.

This effort marks a lighter, more whimsical direction compared to Helsinki Partners’ ‘Helsinki Exposed’, which takes a similarly wry look (at nudity-normalisation in this case), or the practical ‘Snack-Sized Guide’ to local cuisine.

Our take

Now that I come to think of it (I mean, that is my job after all), there’s been something of a purple patch for the traditionally staid tourism market of late, of which this Helsinki effort is very much in keeping.

We saw evidence of this when Switzerland Tourism leant into the internet meme “go touch grass” and turned it into a playful invitation to disconnect from digital overload https://www.creativemoment.co/switzerland-tourism-urges-us-to-touch-grass [

Tourism Ireland also proved to be something of an innovator with its ‘Home of Halloween’ campaign, drawing on its Celtic origins and positioning the island as the authentic home of the festival. 

VisitBritain, meanwhile, tapped into the global rise of ‘set‑jetting’ by presenting Britain as a giant film set where real destinations are the true stars of iconic film and TV moments.