Harri Hylje
Harri Hylje is the seal mascot of Silja Line and the company's signature animal appearing in its logo. A living Harri Hylje figure appears on Silja Line ships especially on weekends and on school holiday periods.[1]
History[edit]
The seal logo was born in 1967, allegedly half-accidentally from word play. During a brainstorming meeting among the marketing department, someone said in Swedish: "Who could bring some comfort for a thirsty soul?" The Swedish word for "soul" is själ, and in the archipelago it is pronounced similarly to the word for "seal", which is säl. The company name Silja Line had not yet been invented at the time, instead the cooperating shipping companies Bore, Effoa and Svea used the marketing name Ruotsinlaivat ("The ships to Sweden") in Finland and De Samseglande Finlandsbåtarna ("The ships to Finland sailing together") in Sweden.[2]
At first the seal figure in the company's advertisements had multiple appearances: it swam along the ships, jumped in the water, sometimes even wore sunglasses and looked different depending on the artist in Finnish and Swedish marketing. At the start of the 1970s, when the marketing name Silja Line was taken into use, the Finnish advertising graphic artist Viktor Kaltala and the Swedish Janne Sjöström spent a day and a half together to come up with a common seal character for the Silja Line Logo. The Silja Line seal logo has since been altered at least in 1972, 2012[3] and 2014.[2]
In spring 2009 Tallink Silja donated one euro for each Harri Hylje mascot sold on board Silja Line ships to the WWF Finland Baltic Sea campaign Operaatio Merenneito ("Operation Mermaid"). The total amount of donations rose up to 11 thousand euro.[4]
In autumn 2014 Tallink Silja, the advertising company Hasan & Partners and the outdoor advertising company JCDecaux produced an interactive advertising campaign based on the Harri Hylje figure at the tram stop outside the Helsinki Central railway station. Citizens could play or take selfies with a remotely controlled Harri Hylje figure shown on a video screen. The device printed gift cards for ferry cruises as a reward.[5]
In 2018 the play equipment manufacturer Lappset produced Harri Hylje themed play ships for the Silja Serenade and the Silja Symphony.[6]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ Elämyksiä pikku seiloreille, Tallink Silja. Accessed on 24 February 2019.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Koski, Sami: Olipa kerran hylje..., Valkeat laivat 8 August 2016. Accessed on 23 February 2019.
- ↑ Turunen, Miia: Siljan hylje ei enää hymyile, Markkinointi & Mainonta 8 May 2012. Accessed on 23 February 2019.
- ↑ Tallink Siljan Harri Hylje -kampanja tuotti WWF:lle 11 013 euroa, press release, Tallink Silja 3 December 2009. Accessed on 23 February 2019.
- ↑ Silja Linen hylje tanssittaa ohikulkijoita ratikkapysäkillä – "Harri Hylje saattaa myös palkita matkustajat", Markkinointi & Mainonta 24 October 2014. Accessed on 23 February 2019.
- ↑ Leikkilaivat viihdyttävät nyt perheen pienimpiä risteilyvieraita, Lappset 2018. Accessed on 23 February 2019.
External links[edit]
- Harri Hylkeen tarina, faery tale written by Kerttu Rahikka
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