TINE Easter crime milk cartons reappear

22-Mar-2017 - Last updated on 22-Mar-2017 at 09:56 GMT

Norwegian consumers get to solve a mystery on cartons of TINE milk this Easter.

It’s Easter, and in Norway, that can mean only one thing: TINE Easter crime milk cartons.

The Norwegian dairy company will be producing 15m cartons with a cartoon mystery ‘crime,’ something it’s done since 1997. For the seventh year running, the ‘mystery’ has been created by crime writer Gunnar Staalesen and illustrator Arild Midthun.

Staalesen is best known for his crime novels featuring private detective Varg Veum.

Participation increasing

Around 200,000 consumers submit their answers to the mystery crime, and the numbers are rising by about 30% each year.

“We think it's fantastic that families across the country gather around the breakfast table to resolve the crime on milk cartons,” TINE brand manager Hege Fjereide said.

In the past, the short crime stories have been written by authors including Unni Lindell, Jon Michelet, Anne Holt, Tom Egeland, Kim Småge and Erlend Loe.

tine easter2 — Arild Midthun and Gunnar Staalesen combined to create the new TINE 'mystery.'

Activities also online

At the campaign website and through TINE’s facebook page, consumers can participate in the contest by voting on who they think is the criminal, read more about the suspects and their favorite dishes, and do digital jigsaw puzzles.

Each day leading up to Easter Saturday a winner is chosen to receive two movie tickets.

The cartons are in Norwegian stores from March 20 to April 16, with the big reveal of the solution on Easter Eve.