Norwegian Tourism: 'Shithouse' Campaign Goes Viral

President Donald Trump's recent criticism of Norway has triggered a specific marketing response from the nation's tourism sector. The U.S. president called Norway a 'shithouse' during a rally in Port Huron, Michigan, on Sunday. This remark came ahead of the U.S. midterm elections and followed the Nobel Peace Prize award to international jurist Navi Pillay earlier this month. Trump has long expressed a desire for the Nobel, often criticizing the Norwegian Nobel Committee for not selecting him.

Visit Norway, the state-run tourism agency, responded by publishing a digital guide to public restrooms. The campaign is titled 'Norway makes shithouses great again.' The agency posted on social media that they heard 'some noise about s…house country.' The guide showcases toilets described as architectural marvels. These facilities are located in scenic areas including fjords, mountains, and regions where the Northern Lights are visible.

One featured location is the Stegastein viewpoint. The free toilets there sit on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Aurlandsfjord. A large window allows users to see the view without allowing onlookers to peek inside. DesignCurial ranked this facility No. 1 on its list of the world's 10 best public toilets in 2015. The list also includes the 'Gulldassen,' or Golden Toilet, on Senja Island. This triangular restroom was built in 2014 and serves as a popular stop for tourists.

Evgenia Egorova, the social media lead for Visit Norway, told The Associated Press that her team had previously created similar content for World Toilet Day. That event is scheduled for Nov. 19. Egorova said the team was delighted to repurpose the existing material. She noted that the reaction to the new campaign has been overwhelmingly positive. 'When life gives you lemons or quotes like this, you just do the lemonade and all the viral content,' she said Friday.

Trump's use of the term 'shithouse' echoes his 2018 comments about Haiti and African nations. At that time, he suggested he would prefer immigrants from countries like Norway. His relationship with Oslo has soured since then, primarily due to disputes over the Nobel Peace Prize. The viral tourism campaign adds to a history of cultural friction between the U.S. president and Norwegian institutions.

The Golden Toilet on Senja Island is not the only golden latrine associated with Trump. A golden toilet was installed on the National Mall earlier this year. A resistance art group placed it to protest renovations at the White House. During Trump's first term, the Guggenheim Museum's chief curator offered the First Family an 18-karat solid gold toilet titled 'America' instead of a Van Gogh painting. The artwork by Maurizio Cattelan was later stolen from Blenheim Palace in the U.K. in 2019. Two thieves were convicted last year, but the latrine has never been recovered.

The tourism campaign has gone viral this week. It leverages the country's reputation for scenic infrastructure to turn a political insult into a promotional opportunity. The agency's social media posts have drawn widespread attention. The specific toilets highlighted in the guide are accessible to the public. The campaign does not mention the Nobel Committee directly in its primary promotional materials.