Every single time I see this commercial on TV, I want to die laughing.
First of all, a little back story.
Frank the Sheep. Photo from Tele2's website.
Frank is a black sheep. He never felt like he fit in, so he left the flock. Eventually, he ended up at a telecom company, where realized he was born to be cheap. Bliss! He’s a street smart, tell-it-like-it-is kind of dude.
Frank the Sheep, born to be cheap. Image from Resume magazine.
Yep.
So, Frank is not from Sweden, and he doesn’t really speak Swedish. He gives it a try, though, in the following commercial.
HA!
I’ve been in Sweden for awhile now, so I’ve seen a number of these commercials. This one is definitely one of the best, though.
So now, thanks to Frank, you have a little insight into what it’s like to try to start speaking Swedish. The grammar? Not so hard. The words? Yeah, you have to learn them. The sounds? Totally and completely incomprehensible to me.
(As a sidenote, what a testament to Swedes’ abilities with English that they can follow and enjoy a commercial campaign in English for three years, and it motivates them to buy the service! Crazy.)
You gotta love it.
If you know Swedish or have been trying to learn it, you might want to check out these blog posts I wrote on funny Swedish words and phrases!
14 Swedish words that give me the giggles
25 More Swedish words (and phrases) that give me the giggles
Two more Frank the Sheep commercials (because I just can’t resist)