Visit Norway turns a “shithouse” insult into an invitation to see its beautiful toilets

Visit Norway has found an unexpected way to promote the country’s scenery: putting its public toilets in the spotlight.

Responding to Donald Trump’s description of Norway as a “shithouse country,” the tourism organisation took the phrase literally. Its social post showcases a striking roadside restroom beneath the headline “Meet the world’s most beautiful,” with “shit houses” crossed out and replaced by “toilets.”

The result is a tourism message built around an insult, with architecture and landscape supplying the answer.

A small correction delivers the joke

The Instagram image shows a curved concrete toilet building beside the water, backed by steep mountains and an open blue sky.

The crossed-out wording is the main creative device. It briefly introduces the insult before redirecting attention to the building in the photograph.

The caption continues in the same tone, referring to the remark before celebrating Norway’s spectacular toilets and signing off with love. It makes the response feel light, while giving people a specific reason to look more closely at the destination.

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The scenery makes the claim worth exploring

The featured building is at Ureddplassen on the Helgelandskysten scenic route. Designed by Haugen/Zohar Architects, its concrete roof rises from the terrace in a wave-like curve.

The rest area combines toilet facilities, seating and views towards the sea. Its design gives a routine roadside stop a visual identity that belongs to the surrounding landscape.

That is what makes the campaign more than a wordplay exercise. The photograph offers something surprising to discover, turning a practical travel facility into a subject for destination advertising.

A wider collection of unusual rest stops

Visit Norway extended the idea through its online guide and the line “Norway makes shithouses great again.”

The wider selection includes the triangular Golden Toilet at Ersfjordstranda on Senja, the stainless-steel rest-stop structure at Espenes in Hardanger and the tall concrete toilet at Ostasteidn in Ryfylke.

Each gives the joke another destination to point towards. Visitors can move from the social post to actual places along Norway’s scenic routes.

Existing content found a timely new role

The response reused material previously developed around World Toilet Day, giving an existing tourism subject a new topical introduction.

The approach lets the country’s buildings and scenery do much of the talking. A crude remark provides the opening; the photographs turn attention towards places people might want to visit.

The campaign found a fresh way to present something Norway already had.

Credits

Brand: Visit Norway. Formats: Social media and website content. Featured location: Ureddplassen, Helgelandskysten, Norway. Ureddplassen architecture: Haugen/Zohar Architects. Photograph in the supplied post: Frid-Jorunn Stabell / Statens vegvesen. Campaign period: October 2026.