Last month, me and Marko Rantanen went shooting around the Helsinki metropolitan area for Helsingin Sanomat omakaupunki.fi ad campaign. “Oma kaupunki”, which translates as “My city”, is a site where people can exchange tips, events, news and services. The campaign theme is “Greetings from the neighborhood. This is what Oma Kaupunki is made of.” All the ads show how people can collaboratively participate in documenting their home town.

I shot with my Pentax ME and Marko used his Hasselblad XPan. I wanted to use film cameras to get a casual feel to the photos, like they were shot by ordinary people, but still remain stylish enough to be used in advertising. The look is largely based on my personal snapshots and the handwritten, care-free typography by Jenni Juntunen plays an important part.

The print ads are comprised of short collaborative stories about Helsinki with thematically related pictures.

The campaign also contains two fridge magnet outdoor ads where people can arrange words that describe Helsinki. The magnets are free to take home with you. And if that wasn’t enough, we have a multi-user banner where five persons per banner can arrange virtual fridge magnets.

Fridge magnet outdoor ad

Fridge magnet multi-user banner

"For free" ad in stores around Helsinki

Post-it sticker ad

Marko hanging from the ground

Some of my photos allocated for this campaign