Fishing boat takes on unusual advertising role

The small fishing boat Hvítá HF found itself in an unexpected role this summer — as a floating billboard. A 150-kilogram LED screen was mounted on its deck to promote Milt liquid detergent, catching the eye (and amusement) of passersby around Hafnarfjörður harbor.

The stunt, created by Cirkus advertising agency, turned heads and has now been showcased in a newly released video (shown above).

“A strange idea,” says the skipper

“I thought it was a pretty strange idea,” admits Guðlaugur Jónasson, the captain of Hvítá, who has been a traditional coastal fisherman for years. It was his first time participating in an ad campaign.
“A friend of mine was supposed to do it, but I didn’t think such a heavy, 150-kilo screen belonged on his boat — so I offered mine instead,” he says.

The project went smoothly. “We put some tubs in the hold for stability,” Guðlaugur explains. When asked what he himself would have advertised if he had kept sailing around with the screen, he answers without hesitation:

“Free, environmentally friendly handline fishing.”

Playing with words — and water

According to Cirkus, the campaign aimed to give Milt detergent a fresh twist. Since Milt is a liquid detergent, the team decided to play on the word “liquid” literally — by putting the ad on water.

The creative concept also tied the brand more closely to nature:

“By bringing the message of cleanliness out to sea, we combined the Icelandic landscape with the sense of natural freshness — qualities that Milt has always emphasized,”
the agency said in a statement.

Milt detergent was first launched by Frigg Soapworks in 1986 under the slogan “Milt fyrir barnið” (“Gentle for the child”) and was designed for people with sensitive skin.