Swedish campaign rebrands homeless living as a boutique hotel

A street newspaper in Gothenburg, Sweden, has launched an interesting fundraising campaign. Using a spoof hotel chain site, Faktum (not to be confused with the Ikea cabinets) offers locals the pleasures of sleeping in the urban wasteland where the homeless people live.

The copy is entirely straight-faced. From the screengrab above:

A stay at the Skeppsbron wharf assures you a waterside vista in the heart of the city. The world’s largest maritime museum is close at hand and Gothenburg’s opera house is no more than a short walk along the Göta river – just beyond Casino Cosmopol.

The “rooms” cost 100 Swedish Krona (about $15 USD) per night. You can book them for yourself, or for a friend (who will be notified on Facebook). The money goes towards Faktum’s work to help the socially vulnerable and disenfranchised.

The online campaign is masterfully executed. I’ll just have to assume that since the client is so close to the street people, folks there made sure their beneficiaries were okay with the satirical send-up of their situations.

Visit the site here. A video case study follows.