HS Lasten uutiset: Custom Music

HS Lasten uutiset is a news service by Helsingin Sanomat, designed specifically for younger readers. Its mission is to make the world more understandable from a child’s point of view. With this radio campaign, the goal was to highlight the fact that following the news isn’t just for adults — it’s a way for children to build literacy, curiosity, and a broader understanding of the world from an early age. The aim was to create a radio spot that resonates with kids but also grabs the attention of adults. The end result was a track that blends information with rhythm, play with structure — where the news transforms into music.

Starting Point: A Message for Kids That Adults Need to Hear

In radio advertising, the challenge with Lasten uutiset is twofold: the message needs to reach children, but the decision-maker is the adult. The campaign track therefore needed to operate on two levels — it had to be fun and catchy for kids, but also clever and appealing enough to leave a positive impression on adults. The core idea in the brief was that news feels less threatening when it's understood. That’s what makes Lasten uutiset so important: it develops media literacy — but more than anything, it builds world literacy. The radio track needed to communicate this — through play, rhythm, and smart audio storytelling.

Creative Solution: A Newscast That Sticks in Your Head

Our approach was simple yet inventive: create a song that sounds like a newscast to adults and like a fun, catchy beat to children. At the heart of the production was the idea of sampling lines from the show's hosts and reporters and setting them against a tongue-in-cheek, danceable beat. The final track is both a newscast and a radio hit at the same time — depending on how you listen to it. It uses journalistic language and news-like phrasing as musical building blocks, recontextualized into something playful but respectful.

Reaching Target Audiences: Communication on Two Levels

The composition was designed to operate on two simultaneous levels. For children, it works through rhythm, repetition, playful phrases and an earworm melody. For adults, the clever use of vocal samples creates a narrative thread that leads to a moment of realization — an aha! — that helps form a positive association with the product.

The goal was not to teach, but to spark curiosity. And that’s the core of the campaign: the child might not remember everything that was said, but they’ll want to hear more. Meanwhile, the adult recognizes the conceptual layer — and ideally sees Lasten uutiset as a service that explains the world to children in a safe, smart, and non-condescending way.

The Result: A Track That Sticks — and Bridges Generations

The campaign track managed to combine humor and depth with style. It speaks to both of its target audiences and builds a bridge between generations. It doesn’t explain — it lets the listener discover. And that discovery is what makes it stick.