Metal Makes Happy

In March 2024, Studio Brussel launched a campaign with a simple, slightly unhinged message: “Metal Makes Happy.” Designed to promote their annual Easter Monday countdown, “De Zwaarste Lijst,” the campaign was crafted by VRT Creative, alongside freelance creatives Olaf Meuleman and Thomas Thysens.

The heart of it? A deadpan Finnish metalhead calmly credits his country’s #1 spot in the World Happiness Report not to education, nature, or social policy—but to heavy metal. The film’s dry delivery and unexpected logic flipped the genre on its head: metal isn’t dark—it’s downright therapeutic.

A series of equally oddball radio spots backed it up, all playing with the same absurd but charming idea. The campaign didn’t just speak to the die-hards in black hoodies; it invited anyone with ears (and maybe a little stress) to find joy in distortion.

It’s a campaign that didn’t just make noise. It made metal feel—against all odds—like self-care.