In recent years, society has been living in a constant state of instability and uncertainty. The Covid-19 pandemic significantly changed everyday life and brought about economic hardship, followed by global political crises – including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This chain of events has deeply affected people’s daily mood, contributing to emotional exhaustion and a decline in mental well-being.
To offer a moment of lightness in contrast to this heaviness, the goal of the project is to use outdoor advertising – one of the most visible and accessible communication channels – to deliver content that sparks a smile and brings positivity into everyday life.
"Viedais Pīrādziņš" ("The Wise Pastry") is an outdoor communication project that offers an ironic, self-reflective, and humorous perspective on ourselves – our habits, biases, and behavior.
The campaign’s slogan “Cepos es, smejies tu” (roughly, I’m fuming, you’re laughing) plays with a Latvian word that means both literal baking and emotional irritation or anger. It encourages viewers to laugh at life’s absurd moments and to see the humor in everyday situations.
The project is inspired by a tradition of baking messages and folk wisdom into pastries or cookies, and the texts are crafted in the rhythmic, rhyming style of Latvian proverbs.
The public is also invited to participate – people can submit their own jokes, some of which are selected and featured on outdoor advertisements.
According to research conducted within the campaign, 49% of respondents said that “Viedais Pīrādziņš” made them smile or sparked their interest in the project – proving that positive content in public spaces is both valued and needed.
