This accompanies Nikolas Glover and Andreas Mørkved Hellenes’ Contemporary European History article A ‘Swedish Offensive’ at the World’s Fairs: Advertising, Social Reformism and the Roots of Swedish Cultural Diplomacy, 1935–1939

How does a country project a certain image of itself? What place have the advertising professions had in the history of cultural diplomacy? How have small countries attempted to attract the attention of foreign publics? Our research seeks to answer these questions, and the Swedish national pavilions at the world’s fairs in Brussels 1935, Paris 1937 and New York 1939 provide a very rich case study. In the threatening international atmosphere of the late 1930s, the network convinced the Swedish government to seize the opportunities opened up by the crises of capitalism and democracy. Here was a chance for a small country to make itself heard.

Using modern advertising techniques, the 1937 and 1939 pavilions aimed to showcase Sweden’s successful handling of the economic and socio-political crisis which was crippling the big nations. The montage from Paris 1937 (see left image) displayed this key message of the Swedish pavilions in both Paris and New York., with an overlapping of text, graphs, stats and images. Using ‘modern advertising techniques’ it told visitors the story of how an interventionist state mobilised the population to overcome the Great Depression: creating jobs, shielding agricultural production, building modern homes and supporting domestic consumption.

Another display in the Paris pavilion, and again in 1939, focused on domestic interior, showing off Sweden’s contemporary furniture and decorative arts. Conceived by leading exhibition specialists, these carefully laid out settings (see right image) served the combined purpose of illustrating Swedish living standards, presenting Swedish culture and promoting the sales of Swedish designer goods.

These well-received pavilions, combining pedagogical introductions to Swedish society with attractive displays of Swedish consumer products and decorative arts, played a key role in popularising Sweden’s reputation as successful ‘middle way’ between capitalism and socialism. Not only that, but the meeting of the advertisement industry and soft politics had a lasting impact on the future direction of Swedish cultural diplomacy.

Read the full article

Read all articles in the collection

Main image credit: Centre for Business History (Stockholm)