Hirvi

Quirky security features on Finland's passport become surprise internet hit

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• published: 31 Jul 2015
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AP TELEVISION 1. Close up of animated moose on pages of passport as pages are turned 2. Zoom in on different Finnish passports 3. Focus change on front of passport 4. SOUNDBITE (English) Hanna Piipponen, Finnish National Police Board: "We got this new design in August 2012 and we were a bit surprised that we didn't get any calls about the moose then. But then suddenly someone put it on YouTube, this video, and now everyone is interested in it." 5. Mid of various different Finnish passports thrown on table 6. Close up of animated moose as pages are slowly turned 7. SOUNDBITE (English) Hanna Piipponen, Finnish National Police Board: "It's primarily a security feature but of course it gives a nice input to the passport." 8. Mid of passport, showing animal designs on each page 9. Close up of toad detail on one page 10. Close up of moose as pages are turned 11. SOUNDBITE (English) Hanna Piipponen, Finnish National Police Board: "Well our goal was that the colours and the new design represents the Finnish nature, and the theme of Finnish nature." 12. Mid of passport pages being flicked twice, showing animated moose STORYLINE: Quirky security features on Finland's new passport have become a surprise internet hit. When users flick through the travel document, a moose appears to walk across the page. Although the new design was first issued six months ago, the moose has only now attracted global attention after a video of it was uploaded onto YouTube. "We got this new design in August 2012 and we were a bit surprised that we didn't get any calls about the moose then," said Hanna Piipponen of the Finnish National Police Board. "Then suddenly someone put it on YouTube this video and now everyone is interested in it," Piipponen, a lawyer who was on the working group tasked with coming up with new designs and new security features for the new passport, added. One YouTube account which hosts the video has been viewed more than 300-thousand times since it was uploaded. This week, the sleeper hit video has been featured on travel and design blogs, sparking yet more internet attention. The walking moose is featured on all of Finland's passport documents, from standard passports which most travellers are likely to carry, to documents for diplomats and government officials as well as emergency passports which can be issued at Finnish embassies overseas. The moose is "primarily a security feature" said Piipponen "but of course it gives a nice input to the passport." Other new security features include different colour strips on pages to denote different types of passports; pages and covers that are luminescent under ultra-violet light; and intricate embossed snowflake designs on the back cover of the passports. All of the design flourishes are put in place to deter counterfeiters. "Our goal was that the colours and the new design represents the Finnish nature, and the theme of Finnish nature," explained Piipponen, as she showed off the various Finnish animals depicted on the left hand page of each passport - with the animated moose on the right hand page. The moose - or "hirvi" as it's known in Finnish - is the country's largest deer. There are estimated to be more than 100-thousand of the herbivores in Finland, and they can grow as large as 2 metres tall. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/84c654c9549cad16a9944fb7cf2c3d3c Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork