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SE Denmark Asks If Climate Choices Are Really That Bad
SE, the Danish energy and telecommunications group, launched 'Is it really that bad?' in March 2017 as a six-part digital film series challenging Danish consumers to examine the climate consequences of their everyday choices, using humour and documentary-style storytelling to drive national conversation under the hashtag #WTFgørvimedklimaet, according to Climatesafety.
The campaign places Danish comedian Magnus Millang at its centre. Directed by Millang himself and scripted by his brother Emil Millang, each of the six short films investigates a specific climate dilemma — whether to convert a petrol-driven car to electric power, how far south one can travel by train within the same time it takes to fly, or what personal sacrifice looks like when beef consumption enters the conversation. The films do not preach. They probe, with Millang guiding viewers through genuine uncertainty rather than prescribed answers.
In Denmark, SE positioned the campaign as a contribution to the national climate debate rather than a conventional automotive or energy advertisement. The hashtag #WTFgørvimedklimaet — translating roughly as 'What the f*** are we doing with the climate?' — was designed to invite participation and provoke discussion beyond the films themselves, as reported by Markedsføring, according to Migrationpolicycentre Eu. Liselotte Bauer Mols, speaking to Markedsføring in March 2017, described the campaign's core ambition as stimulating climate awareness and encouraging Danish audiences to engage with the consequences of ordinary consumer behaviour. The industrial and automotive dimensions of that behaviour — car ownership, travel, energy consumption — form the structural spine of all six films.
SE identified a specific tension in Danish public discourse around climate in 2017. The gap between awareness of climate change and willingness to alter personal behaviour had become a culturally familiar but largely unresolved subject, and conventional advertising approaches had done little to close it. Rather than adding another earnest message to an already saturated debate, SE chose to work inside that tension, using comedy and self-examination as the strategic lever.
The automotive dimension of the campaign is especially deliberate. Questions about petrol-to-electric car conversion, the emissions implications of flying versus rail travel, and the carbon footprint of beef consumption all sit at the intersection of consumer lifestyle and industrial energy systems — the precise territory SE, as an energy and telecommunications group, occupies professionally. By anchoring the campaign in these dilemmas, SE connected its own business interests to the audience's daily decisions without making that connection explicit or promotional.
The competitive context in Denmark's energy sector makes this positioning strategically significant. Major global automotive advertisers, including Volkswagen and General Motors, which ranked fourth and sixth respectively among global advertisers in 2017 according to Campaignbrief, were already deploying substantial resources to shape consumer perceptions of electric mobility. SE's approach — entering the same thematic territory without being a vehicle manufacturer — allowed the brand to participate in the automotive and climate conversation from an unexpected and arguably more credible angle. The digital format, distributed under the #WTFgørvimedklimaet hashtag, was chosen to maximise shareability and provoke peer-to-peer discussion across Danish audiences, as documented by Clapboard.
Magnus Millang directed the six films that comprise 'Is it really that bad?' and also appears on screen as the campaign's investigative guide. The dual role — performer and director — gives each film an unusual coherence, with Millang's on-screen curiosity and his directorial sensibility operating as a single authorial voice, according to Markedsforing Dk.
Emil Millang wrote the scripts. The writing approach, as documented by Clapboard, leans toward documentary rather than advertising convention. The films present genuine dilemmas without resolving them neatly, allowing viewers to arrive at their own discomfort rather than being directed toward a branded conclusion. This structural choice — withholding easy answers — is what separates the series from standard corporate climate communication and gives the hashtag #WTFgørvimedklimaet its rhetorical force.
The production team assembled for the campaign brings professional craft to what might otherwise read as informal, conversational content, according to Politiken Dk. Sigurd Bæk Jensen produced the series. Martin La Cour served as cinematographer, with Esben Frese handling second-unit photography. Thomas Gulyas oversaw sound, Jakob Ølgaard edited the films, and Boaz Heller completed colour grading. Media and PR distribution was handled by AOL/Be On, as documented by Clapboard. The cumulative effect of this production infrastructure is a series that feels spontaneous and approachable at the surface level while carrying the visual and sonic consistency of deliberately crafted editorial content. The reference in the campaign's framing to Magnus Millang working to become 'the Danish answer to Leonardo DiCaprio' — a nod to DiCaprio's high-profile climate advocacy — functions simultaneously as self-deprecating humour and a signal that the films are genuinely engaged with the seriousness of the subject.
No verified performance data for 'Is it really that bad?' is publicly available. Audience reach figures, view counts, and social engagement metrics for the #WTFgørvimedklimaet campaign have not been released through any named public source, and no awards for this campaign are recorded in the sources consulted for this analysis.
Structurally, the campaign demonstrates several qualities that correlate with effective digital climate communication. The six-film format distributes audience attention across multiple entry points, reducing dependence on any single piece of content to carry the full persuasive load. The hashtag #WTFgørvimedklimaet functions as a connective tissue across all six films, giving the series a shared identity that extends the campaign's reach into organic social conversation. The decision to cast a known Danish comedian — Magnus Millang — in the directing and on-screen roles simultaneously lowers the barrier to engagement and lends the content cultural credibility within the Danish market.
The campaign's industrial and automotive subject matter — electric cars, petrol conversion, flying versus rail — anchors abstract climate concern in decisions that Danish audiences make regularly, increasing the likelihood that the films prompt genuine reflection rather than passive viewing. Clapboard assigns this campaign a score of 63 out of 100, reflecting the strength of its strategic concept and production execution relative to the absence of documented measurable outcomes.
'Is it really that bad?' is a six-part digital film series by Danish energy and telecommunications group SE, launched in March 2017. The campaign uses humour to examine climate dilemmas including electric cars, petrol conversion, beef consumption, and air travel, inviting Danish audiences to reflect on the consequences of everyday choices under the hashtag #WTFgørvimedklimaet.
Danish comedian Magnus Millang directed the films and appeared on screen as the central investigative figure. His brother Emil Millang wrote the scripts. Producer Sigurd Bæk Jensen oversaw production, with cinematography by Martin La Cour. Media and PR distribution was handled by AOL/Be On, as documented by Clapboard.
The campaign frames Magnus Millang's climate investigation as an attempt to become the Danish answer to Leonardo DiCaprio, whose high-profile environmental advocacy was widely recognised by 2017. The reference works as self-deprecating humour while signalling genuine engagement with climate seriousness, giving the #WTFgørvimedklimaet series both comic and credible dimensions, as documented by Clapboard.
SE's six films examine specific consumer dilemmas including converting a petrol car to electric power, comparing train travel time against flying to southern destinations, and the climate impact of beef consumption. Each film presents the dilemma without a prescribed answer, inviting Danish audiences to reach their own conclusions, as documented by Clapboard.
SE's 'Is it really that bad?' campaign received a Clapboard Score of 63 out of 100. The score reflects the campaign's strong strategic concept and professional production execution across its six digital films, balanced against the absence of any publicly verified performance or audience measurement data for the Danish market.
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