80-year-old Danish woman Kirsten Helstrup reviewing her scrapbook of winning slogans and prizes.
In Denmark, 80-year-old Kirsten Helstrup has turned a quirky pastime into a highly profitable lifelong pursuit. Since the mid-1980s, the retiree has dominated corporate slogan competitions.
Her relentless wordplay has yielded hundreds of high-value prizes. “I have won about 70 trips and also a car,” she told the Danish media outlet DR.
The “Queen of Slogans”
Helstrup’s success is no accident. She constantly brainstorms catchy phrases, jotting down words, rhymes, and sudden ideas in a dedicated notebook.
This disciplined approach earned her a formidable reputation in her home country, where she is widely known as “The Queen of Slogans.” In 1988, her dominance was officially cemented when the Guinness Book of World Records recognized her for securing 212 contest victories.
When a competition catches her eye, she leaves nothing to chance. Helstrup enjoys the creative process so much that she sometimes submits up to 40 different proposals for a single contest.
Concorde Flights and American Fridges
Her personal scrapbook reads like a catalog of luxury items and eclectic freebies. Alongside smaller wins like pet food, she has secured major payouts.
Helstrup’s winnings include a family canoe trip, 2,500 kroner (around €334) for a beauty treatment, and a massive American refrigerator valued at 30,000 kroner (roughly €4,000).
One of her most triumphant moments came from a razor blade company contest. She submitted the winning slogan: “Triple performance: pure pleasure.”
That five-word phrase won her a coveted, ultra-exclusive transatlantic flight on the supersonic Concorde.
A Professional Pivot and One Elusive Prize
Decades of amateur success have finally translated into official corporate work. This year, the Confederation of Danish Industry hired the 80-year-old to design new slogans for their campaigns.
Despite her Guinness record and professional validation, Helstrup remains laser-focused on a single unachieved goal.
“The only thing I haven’t tried to win is a cruise,” she confessed to DR. “It’s annoying.”
While she hunts for that elusive boarding pass, she still appreciates great copy written by others. She cited the brand tagline “Kim’s – Hungry for fun” as a commercial masterpiece.
“It’s so good because it says it all,” she noted, admitting with total honesty that she wishes she had written it herself.
