Turku - In 2007, the Finnish cruising, car ferry and cargo brand, Silja Line, celebrated its 50th anniversary. Their long journey from a one-vessel shipping company to one of the best known travel brands in Finland was captured by Lahtinen & Mantere Saatchi & Saatchi in a 'docutainment' film called "Bon Voyage!", which has just been honoured with a Platinum award at the 41st WorldFest-Houston.
The 10-minute film is a shamelessly nostalgic collage created from archive clips, which describes the history of transportation between Finland and Sweden from a traveller's point of view. It was produced in co-operation with film company Pohjantähti Elokuva Oy.
Collecting and organizing the material was a huge effort - the film is also a nice example of everyman's cultural history. It was shown on every one of the Line's cruises during the autumn of their jubilee year, running with both Finnish and Swedish voice-overs as well as English subtitles.
"Bon Voyage!" has won two other international awards during 2008 already. It picked up Silver at Germany's WorldMediaFestival, and Bronze at the Telly Awards in the US.
As Lahtinen & Mantere Saatchi & Saatchi's CEO, Sam Hansén, put it, "We only need a gold and a Grand Prix for a straight flush!"