Beer Brand Wants Lovers to Wear a Bear to Fight Loneliness on Valentine’s Day

Karhu Beer wants couples to wear a bear this Valentine’s Day, and in return it will donate to a loneliness charity.

Conceived by hasan & partners, a limited edition twin t-shirt pack, featuring a design by fashion art illustrator Laura Laine, go on-sale for 24 hours on 14th February, with profits going to loneliness charity, Helsinki Mission.

Karhu - which means bear in Finnish - features an iconic bear as its logo, which is reinterpreted by Laine, whose distinctive hand-drawn illustrations have been featured in Vogue, Elle, The New York Times, Marie Claire and The Guardian.  

Laine adds the Karhun Valentine’s t-shirt to a raft of fashion commissions that include: Givenchy, Zara, Sephora and Pantene. For the latter she decorated New York’s Grand Central Station with flowing hair illustrations.  

But you can’t just buy one - you have to buy two t-shirts in a celebration of togetherness. They cost €55 for a pair and are only available from the Karhu online shop for a limited period.

Laura Laine commented: “Karhu’s bear logo is iconic so I was nervous and excited about the opportunity to re-invent it for Valentine’s Day, I’m pleased with the result and that we will raise money for a worthy cause.”

Mikael Nemeschansky, creative director at hasan & partners, commented: “We wanted to do something that is more about the people who love the brand. Turn it into something tangible and return the love of our fans. In the spirit of the day, we want this to be a celebration of friendship and togetherness.”

Nella Lämsä, senior brand manager Sinebrychoff, added: “We wanted Laura [Laine] to design her own view of Karhu, because her style and her previous work made a big impression on us. We also wanted to articulate our iconic Bear in a way that has never been done before; she exceeded all our expectations.”

The t-shirt promotion will be supported by social media.