Oslo Metro Stop Becomes Times Square Subway in a one-day event

Background
At first glance, this was a brief and media strategy like any other: to use localised traditional outdoor media to raise awareness of Norwegian Airlines’ new Oslo to New York direct route.

But our response was anything but ordinary. We used this so-called traditional outdoor media to create the ultimate product demonstration for over 40,000 carefully targeted potential travellers.

How? By moving New York to Oslo. For one day. After all, New York’s not a city you just talk about. To do it justice, you have to experience it.

Idea
Norwegian Airline’s brand new route from Oslo to New York meant the Big Apple had never been closer to the Norwegian capital.

To dramatize this proximity, we transformed Oslo’s Nationaltheatret metro station into New York’s iconic Times Square 42 St subway. Thanks to a 42-strong cast and over 600m2 of wall vinyls, Oslo commuters found themselves just one stop away from New York.

Strategy
Norwegian Airlines is famous for having low fares. They attract price-conscious travellers who want convenience, value and quality when they fly.

But few know that Norwegian now flies non-stop to amazing far-flung places – like New York.

Luckily, we knew exactly where to target our price-conscious audience. Every day, they’re taking the cost-effective, efficient metro to work in Oslo.

So, the city’s busiest metro station became our stage. And with painstaking attention to detail we created a living, breathing New York to give a tantalising taste of the never-been-closer Big Apple.

Execution
Cue Spiderman, Mafia brothers, NYPD officers, an American football team, a gospel choir, breakdancers, Yankee fans, preachers and even Times Square’s legendary Naked Cowboy.

Add remarkably authentic subway signage, posters, maps, adverts, hot dog stalls, even manhole covers and you create a New York atmosphere that’s so real it transports you straight to the streets of Manhattan.

No detail was overlooked. Every font, every prop, every single inch of the station was given its own Times Square treatment.

Results
In just one day, over 40,000 Oslo commuters passed through New York on their way to work. Within a few hours, a film capturing the event was picked up by both Scandinavian and stateside media, triggering a flood of social activity.

And all this increased awareness of the Oslo-New York route translated into real sales for Norwegian Airlines. With turnover 16% higher in Q4 2015 than 2014, Norwegian enjoyed their highest passenger figures to date. And with a 19% increase, its Nordic-Transatlantic routes were the biggest single contributory factor to those record sales.

View online film
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXSQ95Yc4UM