A strange phenomenon has been sweeping the playgrounds of Sweden
recently. In schools throughout the nation can be heard harmonious young
voices singing in chorus: ’I’m Ipren,the intelligent painkiller.’ Such
is the impact Acne International’s commercials are having on the Swedish
public.
With school children mimicking the vocals of the ad’s vertically
challenged protagonist, it is clear the directing collective has made
its mark on the nation. Its reel features other quirky work including
satirical ads for the Swedish telecoms company, tele2telefoni, and the
cheeky ET-like puppet, called ’netbaby’. The collective has also just
won an award for ’four big speakers’, a pop promo for the band,
Whale.
No-one needs to convince Nick Sutherland-Dodd, of Arden Sutherland-Dodd,
of the talent of new signing. ’We’ve worked very hard to bring Acne to
London and they’re causing a lot of excitement,’ he says.
Conceived by four friends in the summer of 1996, the Swedish directing
collective is driven by a free-thinking philosophy to create its own
brands rather than foster the growth of others. Far from concentrating
solely on commercials or promos, Acne has fingers in a number of
creative pies, including fashion. Acne Action Jeans has become a top
selling denim brand in Sweden.
Acne has conquered the internet too. Having produced computer games for
Telia (Sweden’s equivalent of BT), it has now created a free online
games site called Netbabyworld, home to funky characters like Digger and
Slacker.
As former classmates and friends of Traktor, comparisons between the two
Swedish collectives are inevitable. Acne is ’flattered’, but prefers to
concentrate on its own projects. In fact, talking to them makes you
wonder if they ever get a chance to put their feet up.
