The ugly Christmas sweater has become a full-blown tradition and many brands have jumped on the bandwagon. And yet, most branded Christmas sweaters are designed for fun. So in December 2018, Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat came up with a more serious approach to it by designing a sweater for the ugliest topics.
Helsingin Sanomat created a limited collection of Christmas sweaters depicting the ugliest news of the past year: climate change, war, plastic in our oceans, technological manipulation and sexual harassment. The series comprised of five shirts; one for each ugly topic. The goal with this campaign was that by keeping these issues in the public eye, the journalists hope to move closer to resolving them.
Kaius Niemi, Helsingin Sanomat’s Senior Editor-in-Chief said: “Truth is the cornerstone of journalism, no matter how ugly it is. We can’t shy away from topics that are difficult, in your face or hard to swallow. That’s why this Christmas we are wearing them on our sleeve, literally. It is our responsibility to bring these matters into the public consciousness and keep them there as long as they remain unsolved.”
The initiative was released under the tagline: “The truth may be ugly, but it never goes out of style.”