Weiden and Kennedy London may have just launched the most Swedish ad campaign ever, and for once I'm not hiding behind my "skämskudde" (which I tend to do otherwise, due to things like this). This ad posits the idea that "Fröken Ur" (Miss Clock), our automated voice system where you can phone up and get the exact time, is a real person. Well, she is. This is Anna Johanna Hermann Lundberg, who is in fact the voice of the time system and all automated "your call is on hold" recordings, as well as train and bus station alert recordings.
The simple idea of getting an hour more for breakfast is a lot funnier when you add "Fröken Ur".
Trivia: Already back in 1916 one could phone up "Telegrafverkets förmedlingsbyrå" (the phone company) to find out the time, and the 6th of October 1934 the human assistance was replaced by an automated recording. The previous voices belonged to Eva Ulvby (1934-1956), Berit Hofling (1956-1968) and the voice I grew up with was Ebba Beckman (1968-2000), a well known radio personality. Ebba was randomly interviewed on the street in this episode start 1:14 by a linguist who exclaims "Why do I recognize you?" and she responds "I was Miss Clock". Her articulating is very distinct, our version of "BBC English" if you will, and I would phone the clock just to practice pronouncing numbers in the way that she does.
Client: Arla
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy London
Principal talent: Anna Johanna Hermann Lundberg
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