HELSINKI, FINLAND — Koskenkorva, the Finnish premium vodka striving to become the most sustainable brand in the category, has produced a unique brand film featuring animatronic animals and a sustainability–themed remix of the 1999 Bomfunk MCs hit “Freestyler.” The film circumvents typical sustainability communication conventions by adopting a humorous style in line with the brand’s “Party like there is tomorrow” slogan.
It’s an ordinary late evening in August in the middle of a golden field of barley in the village of Koskenkorva in Finland’s Southern Ostrobothnia. Suddenly a voice calls “Music!” and a sped-up instrumental version of Freestyler by Bomfunk MCs starts blaring from the speakers. A subsequent “…and dance!” command brings life into both a human actor and an animatronic eagle who start bobbing their heads in rhythm.
A scene like this would be right at home in a screwball comedy. However, when the scene is for a sustainability brand film from an established premium vodka brand, eyebrows are bound to be raised.
“People care about the environment and sustainability, but when researching this campaign, we found that traditional, ‘serious’ communication around sustainability rarely lands,” explained Heini Suominen, Senior Brand Manager of Koskenkorva.
“And in any case, that style of communication wouldn’t have felt natural for us. We’re more at home with raving animatronic otters and Freestyler,” Heini quipped.
Realness from the village
Even though Koskenkorva cracks jokes in its new advertisement, sustainability is no laughing matter to the team. The vodka brand from the small Finnish village of the same name strives to become the world’s most sustainable brand in its segment while maintaining its dedication to product quality. The target is lofty but according to Heini, they’re well on their way.
“Sustainability is – and has been for a long time – a huge priority for us,” she emphasized.
“We’re immensely proud that we’re the world’s first vodka made from regeneratively farmed barley. We’ve also reached great internal milestones, for example, we’re already at a 99.9% recycling and reutilization rate at our distillery and were awarded the Green Company of the Year recognition in 2018. However, in our minds, we still have a ways to go.”
Heini Suominen names increasing post-consumer recycled glass up to 60% in Koskenkorva bottles during 2025 and achieving a carbon neutral production process in its distillery in Koskenkorva during 2026 as just some of the brand’s sustainability goals.
Party Like There is Tomorrow
The dancing animals in Koskenkorva’s music video / sustainability brand film are produced with practical effects and animatronics instead of VFX.
“Animatronics brings a level of whimsiness and some roughness around the edges that you can’t achieve with VFX. This also plays into our goal of being light in the way we’re presenting our message, but not making light of it,” says Henry Littlechild, the director of the brand film.
For the music Koskenkorva wanted something that would be instantly recognizable and at the same time would nod towards their native country of Finland.
Not content with just borrowing the classic Finnish club banger, Koskenkorva wanted to put its own unique, tongue-in-cheek spin to it by incorporating lyrics focused on the brand’s sustainability actions.
“As with the visual style, we wanted to be clear about the facts, but still wanted to entertain. I’m really happy how we were able to hit the mark!” remarked Heini Suominen.
Credits:
ANORA
SVP, Spirits and International Business: Kirsi Puntila
Marketing Director, Spirits: Suvi Reinikkala
Marketing Director, International Brands: Noora Holmberg
Senior Global Brand Manager: Heini Suominen
International Brand Manager: Camille Dardenne
Global Brand Ambassador: Mikael Karttunen
TBWA\Helsinki
Chief Creative Officer: Alex Pineda
Executive Creative Director: Laura Paikkari
Brand Lead: Juha-Matti Raunio
Creative Strategist: Aki Toivonen
Copywriter: Jonathan Fanta
Art Director: Jukka Mannio
Senior Creative: Lasse Kangasmaa
Senior Creative: Mikko Halonen
Production Designer: Mattea Näveri
Account Director: Petra Yli-Hemminki
HeimatTBWA
Executive Creative Director: Tom Hauser
Copywriter: Chiara Jaumann
Art Director: Alexandra Froschauer
Senior Planner: Alex O’Brien
Film production:
Director
Henry Littlechild
DOP
Pasi Paunu
TBWA\Screen
Executive Producer: Niko Hatara
Producer: Mika Pajunen
Producer, Post-production: Heidi Ylä-Ajos
Production Coordinator: Valeria Mikkonen
Editor: Lisa Myllymäki
VFX: Anssi Mahlamäki
Music: Jaakko Salovaara
Prop: Otus Workshop
VFX: Brink Helsinki & VFX Helsinki
Grade and sound: Post Control
Post Control
Producer: Toni Valla
Sound design: Tuomas Soppela
Grading: Marko Terävä
