Moondog to Represent Swedish Creative Collective SNASK in the US

First it was the Pope, then President Obama, and then SNASK. If New Yorkers were wondering why traffic was such a mess in midtown late last month, they need look no further. The Swedish creative agency – a design, film production, branding and creative collective that’s known as much for its self-initiated projects as for its client work – was in town, making an appearance at the Brand New Conference, an influential gathering of bright lights and leading thinkers in the fields of design and branding. 

The SNASK crew also showed up at the Manhattan offices of Moondog, which will now be representing them in the US. They’ve been added as directors on the company’s Moondog Films roster and will be brought on to collaborate on creative projects via its Moondog Creative division. The announcement was made by Bernadette Quinn, Moondog’s Managing Director. To view a sampling of their work, click here.

In addition to signing SNASK, Moondog has named a new set of sales reps to handle all of the company’s divisions – Moondog Creative, Moondog Films, Moondog Edit, Moondog VFX and Moondog Music – in the Midwest and on the West Coast and in Texas. Handing the former is Laurel Dobose of Chicago-based Gypsy Reps, while handling the latter is Andrew Hall of Santa Monica-based Andrew Hall Management. 

“We’re positioning SNASK as a creative/production hybrid that does concepts, design, stop motion and branding,” says Moondog Director of Business Development Sophie Gold. “Everything about them is an anomaly, and clients need to understand that they work across levels, media and disciplines.” 

Their work has been singled out for acclaim by everyone from Adobe to the AIGA to design publications and blogs around the world. Among the clients they’ve worked for are The Washington Post, for which they designed an intricate piece of typographic sculpture for the cover of their June, 2015 Editor’s Favorites issue. They’ve also created design or film projects for such brands as Target, Electrolux, Samsung, the Swedish microbrewer PangPang, the investment bank Nordea Markets and the European wine brand Chill Out wines. 

SNASK was launched in Stockholm by Founders and Creative Directors Fredrik Öst and Magnus Berg, who met while studying in college. They conceived the idea for the studio and its unorthodox structure while still students. “When we graduated in 2007 we set it up instantly,” says Öst, “and since then we haven't looked at others in the industry but rather went our own way and created our own methods of working as well as work ethos.” 

While the partners describe SNASK as a creative agency that does branding, design and film, “we’re also a phenomenon,” he adds. It’s DIY, hand-made aesthetic extends to its approach to products as well as just imagery.  “For example, we have our own beer. We have our own hand-built bike. We hold our own creative festival and conference, and we’ll be launching our own line of vegan foods soon.” 

Their book, published in 2013, “Make Enemies and Gain Fans,” is a both an irreverent treatise on SNASK’s view on branding as well as the history of the studio’s first five years. The title, Öst says, reflects their view that “every brand needs to have opinions and stand up for them. When you do, you’ll get enemies as well as fans.” 

Their agreement with Moondog is their first national representation partnership in the US. They chose Moondog, says Öst, as they were interested in being repped in the States for more than just their film production capabilities. “We really do so much more than that,” he comments. 

“The decision to sign SNASK for US representation was easy, because they possess a design-centric aesthetic that’s relevant to the current marketplace,” says Quinn. “And they’re out of the box thinkers.” To that end, Moondog has already collaborated with SNASK on a Moondog Creative pitch for a major financial services company.