Karhu Beer's New Campaign Calls for Official National Sauna Day in Finland

hasan & partners has created a campaign for Karhu Beer and the Finnish Sauna Society to make the second Saturday in June Finland’s official National Sauna Day.  

 

Karhu Beer cans promote the event with an on-pack call to action that urges Finns to sign a petition demanding the Finnish government officially recognise National Sauna Day.  Once 50,000 signatures are received the petition will be presented to the president and debated in parliament.

 

Sauna is part of the Finnish national culture; it is estimated that there are at least two million saunas in Finland that serve a population of 5.3 million, the equivalent of one per household.  Saunas are everywhere, from multi-national companies to schools; the president has an official sauna, as does the prime minister.

 

Ossi Honkanen, creative, manager of innovation from hasan & partners said: “The Finnish Sauna Society has lobbied the state to officially recognise National Sauna Day for many years.  Beer and sauna are natural partners, so a tie up with Karhu, Finland’s best-selling beer, means we can now make this dream a reality.  

 

“We are confident of reaching our goal of 50,000 signatures and each year strip off our clothes and bathe together as a nation in celebration of our culture.”

 

Eka Ruola, CEO and ECD of hasan & partners Group added: “We are no strangers in working with our country's officials. We helped the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland to create the first national emojis in the world. Now we want to blow some steam to the world famous institution of Finnish Sauna.” 

 

Five Little-Known Sauna Facts

There are more saunas than cars in Finland.

The bundle of leafy birch twigs used by Finns to bathe and whip themselves during a sauna is called a “vihta”.

According to Finnish tradition ‘Saunatonttu’, the sauna elf, protects the sauna, but hates swearing and will force out anyone that breaks the rules

Optimum temperature is 80 to 100 degrees C according to The Finnish Sauna Society.

Children are taught basic sauna etiquette from an early age. An old Finnish proverb says, "One should behave in the sauna the way one behaves in church".