My visits to Sweden have been few and far apart, since it is quite a distance to travel from New Zealand: summer 2002, autumn 2003, winter 2010, and summer 2024.
There are many interesting observations one can make with so many years in between, seeing how society has changed with brief snapshots from each visit, from the number of Volvos on the street (sharply decreased) to how the tourist destinations are performing. Strangely, on all those previous visits, I either drove in or caught the train; this was the first flight into Arlanda Airport north of Stockholm.
I’ll save more of this for Lucire, but one thing that is worthy of note is what they think of us. In 2002–3, mentioning that you are a New Zealander will elicit, ‘The Lord of the Rings! What a beautiful country!’ When my friend Stefan came out to Aotearoa in 2012, he was well versed on Flight of the Conchords (just as well, since we did bump into Jemaine and Taika at Wētā Digital). But in 2024, with some residual goodwill from ‘Who shot J. R. R.?’ Aotearoa is known for … wait for it: Border Patrol.
‘New Zealand. You guys don’t let anything in!’
I’m all for people learning about our strict biosecurity measures at the border, but it is a shame that we depended so heavily on The Lord of the Rings for our tourism marketing that absent of it, we didn’t carve out a niche for ourselves. I know, there was the 100% Pure campaign, which I was critical of at the time; with hindsight, a campaign that complemented rather than replicated the films’ showcase of our natural beauty might have been wiser. What about our national character, or something else that highlighted what makes us different beyond natural beauty? After all, we made headlines for our COVID-19 response—the other thing that we seem to have been known for, which contrasted Sweden’s—so there is something inherent about who we are that would make for great nation branding—and for something aspirational for internal marketing, too.
I know, no programme could have been politically partisan, but something that goes beyond Border Patrol as our sole media ambassador in 2024 (I understand the show is not even being made presently) might be truly needed. We can’t outspend bigger countries, but we can outplay them.
Bret and Jemaine, how about bringing the band back together to put us on the map? Rhys?
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