Erik Lakomaa

In the 1960s the Swedish government though its various agencies became an important customer to the advertising industry. The development was a result not only of the expansion of the public sector but also of a new attitude toward advertising. Advertising now emerged as an important tool for public information. During the 1960s and in following decades a number of large and well publicized public advertising campaigns were run. The campaigns covered topics such as traffic safety, the need for energy savings (after the 1973 oil crisis), and HIV/AIDS. The emergence of the government as a customer also changed the advertising industry. Advertising companies that saw this opportunity and understood how to get government contracts could reap significant profits. The business logic in this segment was however not the same as for commercial advertising, and the companies that succeeded in the government advertising segment were not necessarily the most successful elsewhere. In this paper the history of the Swedish government as a buyer of advertising services is explored. Also covered are the methods used by advertising companies to position themselves as eligible for government contracts and the role of political connections for getting contracts.

For centuries Sweden had a significant small arms industry, dominated by Husqvarna Vapenfabriks Aktiebolag in Husqvarna (founded in 1689) and Carl Gustafs Stads Gevärsfaktori in Eskilstuna (founded in 1812). However, at the end of the 20th century the industry (including both military and civilian production) was virtually gone, and only an insignificant number of artisan manufacturers remained. At the same time, small arms manufacturing continued to flourish in other countries such as the U.S., Germany, Italy, Japan and Finland, indicating that it was indeed possible to survive also where labor costs were high. At the same time the Swedish manufacturers chose not to introduce new labor saving machinery, e.g. CNC machines, metal injection molding, and, despite the increased competition, failed to introduce new attractive products (e.g. over-and-under shotguns). In this paper it is explored why the Swedish manufacturers in contrast to foreign competitors failed to adopt new labor saving technology and how institutional factors, including new restrictions on the number of guns hunters may legally own, and restrictions on retailers (limiting competition and driving up prices) may have destroyed the home market. The paper also covers the role of the national small arms industry played in Swedish defense planning and how the end of the Cold War affected the industry.

The "creative revolution," inspired by agencies in the United States, where Doyle Dane Bernbach, Ogilvy, and Leo Burnett developed a new type of advertising in the 1950s, transformed the Swedish advertising industry, not only when it came to the design of ads but also corporate governance and the structure and institutions of the industry. The "creative revolution" bred a new type of smaller agency that relied more on graphic design than on market research. During the period, the average size of advertising agencies declined significantly, and many existing large advertising agencies created smaller sub-agencies in order to become more agile. Further, the use of creative teams consisting of an account executive, a copywriter, and an art director was introduced in Sweden. In addition, and more important, the industry abandoned the previously mandated system where advertising agencies were paid a proportion of media buys, replacing it with hourly fees. At the same time, the market opened up for new competition, since existing barriers to entry were removed with the abolition of the requirement that advertising agencies were to be authorized by the Swedish Media Publishers Association in order to place ads in newspapers. This led to "unbundling" and the emergence of specialized media agencies, a development that took place in the United States only later. The development is analyzed using two cases Ervaco( of Erwin, WaseyXX1Co. descent) and StigArbmansAnnonsbyrô (Arbmans). Ervaco was a large established advertising agency before the "creative revolution" and Arbmans a newcomer that acted as one of the spearheads in the transformation of the industry. The case studies are based on interviews and previously unavailable archival materials. The two contrasting cases, even though neither of the two firms eventually survived, highlight different strategies used to address industrial change.