“Markku from Finland” gets Eurovision countdown show on TV
By Juha Merimaa
In August last year videos began popping up on YouTube in which “Markku”, dressed in a Mika Häkkinen shirt and a baseball cap, extolled the amazing features of Finland in very broken English to Eurovision Song Contest fans flocking to this country. Markku, who admires Renny Harlin and Lordi, sings the praises of icebreakers, the sauna, and Nokia in ways that made many viewers rub their eyes with wonder. “Surely, no, really, he can’t be serious”.
“Of course, Markku is serious”, Antti Toivonen answers. “Markku is sincerely proud and enthusiastic about Finland and Finnishness. There is no irony there.” However, the videos themselves are not absolutely genuine. Markku is a sketch character developed by a group of friends calling themselves Ruttoryhmä (”Plague Group”). Toivonen himself is the person behind the false moustache.Toivonen, a 28-year-old advertising agency copywriter, is amused by the controversy concerning Markku’s authenticity. “We never thought that anyone would take Markku seriously, but that’s what happened. He is a figure that was invented a few years ago, and it came to us to link him with the Eurovision Song Contest last spring.”At first, the sketches were meant primarily for their friends, but the joke began to spread. Now the most popular Markku sketches have had more than 60,000 hits on the YouTube site. Although Markku’s videos would appear at first glance to be aimed at foreign tourists, their real target is the Finns. According to Toivonen, much of the Markku character involves laughing at himself.“Actually, at one time or another, I have said everything that Markku says about the achievements of the Finns.” Toivonen says that typical Markku behaviour can be seen everywhere in Finland. “A couple of evenings ago I happened to sit in a hotel bar. On both sides there were groups of international businessmen with Finnish hosts. I listened to both groups talking about the World Championships in ice hockey in 1995, the Eurovision victory of Lordi, and the Nokia success story.”Even the most glaring excesses have proven to be surprisingly true to life. “In the summer Markku went to the Finland-Sweden athletics meet, and it could not be said that he would have stood out from the rest of the group. I had put flags of Finland into my cap in order to look ludicrous, but right in front of me there was a row of guys with the same kinds of flags sticking out of their hats.”
Markku, who has so far appeared only on the Internet, is now getting onto television. SubTV will run Markku’s half-hour morning show, Markku’s Morning Comb to Eurovision, from May 2nd at 8:00 AM. The Markku character comments on text messages and videos that are sent in, draws attention to Eurovision Song Contest phenomena, and interviews guests.
So far, Markku has appeared only in short sketches. So how will the character withstand a longer format? “It remains to be seen”, Toivonen answers. The idea of the morning show is to inform Eurovision tourists about the events and happenings of the day. What sight in Helsinki would Markku especially recommend? “The Olympic Stadium. The Olympics were held at the stadium in same year that Armi Kuusela was chosen as the best woman of universe. In the tower you can also remember the arrival of Coca Cola into Finland.”