The archive · Advertising · Marketing decision · 2017
TV 2 Denmark's 'All That We Share' shows strangers what unites them — 393M views
Danish TV 2 filled a studio with strangers and asked what they share, not what divides them; the film drew 393M views and raised common-ground belief by 27%.
TV 2 Denmark
What it had to solve
TV 2 launched in 1988 as a challenger that broke Denmark's TV monopoly, but by 2017 the market leader had lost its challenger spirit and customers. As the industry shifted to narrow, targeted content, TV 2 needed to reclaim a public-service role that held society together.
How it works
TV 2 was born in 1988 as Denmark's challenger, built to break a broadcast monopoly. By 2017 it was the country's biggest media company — and losing the momentum, challenger spirit and customers that had made it. Its agency &Co./NoA proposed the opposite of narrow targeting: prove that Danes have more in common than what separates them.
The film, directed by Asger Leth, staged a real experiment. Danes who had never met stood in floor boxes labelled with stereotypes — the high earners, the people we avoid, those new to Denmark. Then a host asked simple questions: 'Who was the class clown?', 'Who is a stepparent?', 'Who loves to dance?' One by one people stepped out of their boxes and regrouped around shared experience.
It worked as both proof and story. The film went past 393 million views, earned media worth over $96 million, and within months 68% of Danes recognised TV 2's new position; belief in the message 'we have more in common than what separates us' rose 27%. Translated into more than 30 languages, it won five Cannes Lions in 2017 and turned a broadcaster's strategy into a global moment.
Why it lands
- The insight was universal — everyone sorts people into boxes — so the film needed no category knowledge to land, at home or abroad.
- It showed rather than claimed: casting real strangers in a genuine experiment made the message impossible to argue with.
- The questions escalated from light ('class clown') to private ('stepparent'), which made the regrouping feel earned rather than sentimental.
- Because it was a public-service statement, not a product pitch, it gave TV 2 a role beyond ratings and advertising.
What it did
The film drew more than 393 million views and over $96 million in earned media; within months 68% of Danes recognised TV 2's new position, and belief that 'we have more in common than what separates us' rose 27%. It was translated into 30+ languages and won five Cannes Lions in 2017.
What you can take
When the whole category is segmenting, the boldest move is to prove togetherness instead: a real experiment, filmed honestly, outruns any claim — and gives people a story worth passing on.
Since then
TV 2 followed with sequels such as 'All That We Share: Connected' (2019), and the format was adapted by broadcasters in Nigeria, France, Canada and the UK and used in classrooms. The film collected awards through 2017–2018 — five Cannes Lions, six Eurobest, three D&AD Pencils, five Clios and more — and became a reference point for social-experiment advertising.
Sources
- All That We Share — case study
- We've Got a Great Deal In Common in Asger Leth's Film for TV2 Denmark
- All that we share (film)
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