Swedish Model Scares Viewers On TV Commercial

Instead of convincing television viewers to buy personal care products for Apotoket, the Apoliva commercial that features Swedish top model Adina Fohlin has sent people running scared.


In the 30-second clip, the model is standing in the rain/snow and lightning while singing the haunting tones of a Swedish folksong. The close-up view reveals a sullen and emaciated girl. The ad spot ends with the tagline "Apoliva - for Swedish conditions."

This scene is enough to send around 100,000 frightened people join a Facebook group called "Jag är rädd för tjejen i Apolivareklamen" which means "I am scared of the girl in the Apoliva commercial." The description of the Facebook group reads:

"Those of us who have TV and like to watch commercials/can’t be bothered to reach for the remote are facing a problem. Apoliva has begun to run a commercial that is frightening. A woman singing a Nordic/Swedish folk song in freezing rain with lightning. I am creating this group for those of us who need somewhere to seek support and talk things out. It’s only a matter of time before it creeps into our dreams and terrorises us in our sleep."

The Facebook group account was created by Swedish student Anders Hammas who explains to Expressen newspaper that he created the account one late evening while he was studying. "That was when I saw this commercial that I thought was pretty horrible."

Aside from the student's account, there are also other related groups that have been created on Facebook to express their positive opinions or criticisms against the ad.

Meanwhile, the company heads of Apoteket have said that they are not prepared for the kind of reaction they are getting. "It was never our intention to scare people," says Eva Fernvall, brand manager at Apoteket AB.

The people from the advertising agency behind the commercial ad have also said that they did not expect the debate surrounding the commercial, although they hope to draw attention. On the other hand, they could see the wide reaction of people in a positive light. "We think it's fantastic that there have been so many reactions. We wanted to dare to do something different in the cosmetics genre where many thinks looks are the same, and highlight the Swedish weather and how it influences skin and hair," says Leif Sorte, project manager for the commercial at Forsman & Bodenfors.

As for the Swedish supermodel Adina Fohlin, her agency says that she has not taken the criticism personally and that she was just playing a role in a commercial.