Norway’s Enshittificator has a new partner: Death

The Enshittificator is back, and this time the Norwegian Consumer Council has paired him with Death to tackle another familiar consumer frustration: products that seem to die long before they should.

The darkly comic film, The Life of Death and the Ensh*ttificator, accompanies the Council’s new report on circular consumption and the systems that encourage people to replace rather than repair.

Created by Oslo agency NewsLab, the film casts Frida Homlung as Death alongside Bjørn Asgeirsson as the Enshittificator, the professional product-ruiner introduced in the Council’s viral first Enshittificator film.

The joke has evolved neatly. Where the original character exposed how digital services gradually become worse, his new partnership turns planned and digital obsolescence into a relationship: Death takes care of the ending, while the Enshittificator helps products get there faster.

The consumer behaviour behind the gag is less funny.

The Council says two-thirds of consumers have thrown away a product because spare parts were unavailable, while three-quarters have experienced electronic products becoming unusable because software support ended or compatibility disappeared.

“Quality must become the norm. Both consumers and the planet benefit from this,” said Elin Volder Rutle, head of sustainability at the Norwegian Consumer Council.

Written and directed by August Jorfald, the campaign continues NewsLab’s knack for using deadpan Norwegian humour to make policy arguments watchable. The agency also created the much-shared Visit Oslo anti-ad.

The Council is calling for longer consumer guarantees, cheaper repairs and stronger rules around products designed to become obsolete. The creative move is simpler: if planned obsolescence sounds dry, give Death a business partner.

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