Featuring a Brit in search of late-night sustenance, a parody video purporting to showcase the culinary delights of Oulu has been seen by tens of thousands of people across the world.
He visits a _grilli _kiosk, where he is hugged by an amorous blonde, punched by her boyfriend and finally handed a napkin to clean his meal from his jacket after another inebriated customer slams the polystyrene tray into his chest.
As adverts go, it is certainly unconventional. Finnish fast food can be a greasy fried meat pie, a hot dog or even some french fries drowned in ketchup, mustard and gherkins.
The original idea was to attract exchange students to Oulu, but the quirky video attracted an audience well beyond that market. It had been viewed 70,000 times on youtube at the time of writing.
The video’s producers recognise the potentially unappetising qualities of this type of fare, with their mischievous tag line of 'Oulu: Culinary capital of something something go go yes yes!'.
The video is billed as a spot advertising the northern Finnish city that was banned, but according to the municipal image-makers it is completely unofficial.
"People who have been to watch the video will understand that it might not be what is wanted to officially market the city," commented the head of Business Oulu’s marketing project, Suvi Ilvesviita.