The original protest of Oslo classic shops: “Might Be Coming Soon”
Oslo classic stores have made an original protest to warn of the closure of their establishments.
Centennial stores and businesses are on the way to extinction. In every city, those small shops with soul and located in the center end up pale in the face of rising rent prices and pressure from real estate agents. Sooner or later a large multinational will occupy its premises and the city will lose a bit of its soul.
Aware of this and in the face of the real danger of closure during confinement, Oslo stores have made this claim to their citizens as the last call for help.
“Might Be Coming Soon” is the title of the action from The Local Shops of Thorvald Meyer’s Street in Oslo. Thorvald Meyer’s Street is one of the most authentic streets in Oslo and the shops you can find are historic businesses.
It was made by the Sollin Sæle agency and the idea was to draw attention to struggling local shops in Oslo during lockdown. To do this, they decided to put up banners and posters announcing the next grand opening of a multinational franchise.
Thus, logos such as H&M, Burger King, McDonald’s, Starbucks, Subway, 7eleven, among others, appeared covering the historic stores. They started the protest days before Black Friday and it continued during the Christmas campaign. A total of 35 stores joined the initiative that caught the attention of passersby.
In less than 24 hours, the action jumped to the media and went viral on social networks. They reached 3.5 million people (half the population of Norway) on a budget of € 0. The message was clear: “Choose Them, or Loose Them.” The Norwegian Prime Minister welcomed the initiative and many politicians went to work to protect these businesses. The response of the population was massive, increasing sales during the Christmas season.
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