Iceland Comes Together To Sell (and Sing) The Power of Staying Home

Peter Hochstein, copywriter

“A group of musicians in Iceland demonstrated that promoting social distancing doesn’t have to sound like somber, top-down marching orders from an authoritarian central command,” says SHCM contributor and copywriter Peter Hochstein. “Instead, they tapped into something uplifting, communal, and perhaps instinctively primeval.”

Here’s an excerpt from Hochstein’s new story:

I feel sorry for the American doctors and public health experts who’ve been tasked over the past few months with convincing us to distance socially. It’s a job they desperately need to do, but it seems to defy the very notion that people are social animals. Some of us in the audience are wise enough to nod and acquiesce. Others around the nation have exhibited anger, defiance, and in some cases a barely disguised urge to kill the messenger.

Can’t there be a more inspiring way?

The answer is yes. And it has already been done.

In Iceland, a group of musicians and nationally known pop singers got together — albeit virtually — to sing a song about staying home and social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At this point it would make sense to see and hear the singing around the “electronic campfire” that I’m talking about — a four-minute video featuring more than 20 Icelandic pop stars and musicians, as well as three government officials — all singing lyrics with the chorus “goda ferd” or “bon voyage,” and verses containing advice ranging from the need to stay indoors, to pitching a tent in the garage.

There’s no mistake, as you’ll learn from the lyrics, that there are “viral wars” going on. But this pitch gets across the feeling that everybody’s fighting it together.

See it here and read the rest of the story now:

How to Sell Social Distancing and Make It Emotionally Positive

Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President