And Then What?
Case Study: "And Then?", Mullvad VPN
Written by Ana
While commuting on London’s Hammersmith & City line, I spotted an ominous black screen, almost void-like, with just two words staring back at me:
“And Then?”
Short. Simple. Mysterious.
Against the background, Mullvad’s bright purple logo stood out, a Swedish VPN provider.
At first glance, the ad seems to work.
I saw it. Paused. And immediately asked the obvious question: and then what?
That’s the hook, a strategy called curiosity gap.
It’s a familiar feeling, when someone’s telling a story and then…
…stops before it ends.
You lean in, waiting for more information.
Except here… there’s no context. No story.
Just a black screen with two words.
And then?
And then it worked.
Now, I’m probably not Mullvad’s target audience.
VPNs fall into a low-interest category for me. I know little about them and, if I'm honest, never felt the need for one.
Everything I do know can be summarised into this: VPNs make your digital footprint… untraceable.
So at first, I thought the ad message was clear: secrecy – a black screen that reveals almost nothing about the product or the brand… and somehow, that said everything to me.
The colours, the words, the spacing… all strategically used to evoke a question with no answers.
As if the words themselves could disappear into the void.
Off-grid, just like a VPN.
No, this ad probably won’t make me buy one immediately.
Awareness alone doesn’t equal purchase.
Other factors – cost, perceived value, and alignment with a brand’s ethics – help shape the final decision.
But what this ad has done is enter my consideration set.
Now I think of Mullvad when VPNs are mentioned.
And that matters. Because to win a game the odds are always better when you’re actually a player.
Writing my first draft of this piece, I only meant to talk about how minimal creatives can be incredibly effective in advertising. But sometimes, the simplest creative sends you down the deepest rabbit hole.
For example, looking into the seemingly simple “And Then?” campaign, I found that the OOH ad I saw was originally meant to be a TV campaign – except it never aired in the UK.
It was rejected by Clearcast.
The campaign was actually created to challenge the EU's “Chat Control” proposal, amplifying an already growing debate around privacy vs safety, so after the ban, the campaign adapted many times, eventually becoming the piece I spotted.
In a world where our data is constantly tracked, through cookies, algorithms, and targeted feeds, “And Then?” wasn’t just a random question on a board…
It was a statement on digital privacy and freedom.
But one that, funnily enough, got banned first.
Whenever people ask me why I enjoy talking about advertising, I've found there’s a tendency to assume ads are just meant to sell things.
But that's the easy answer.
And a slightly little naive.
Yes, Mullvad as a business, wants to grow. Sales matter.
But Mullvad, as a brand, is bigger than this.
Advertising serves many purposes.
And the best ads bring a message you’re meant to think about – even after you’ve walked past them.
From an awareness and share-of-voice perspective, I’d say Mullvad scored.
After all… this piece exists.
And if you ever come across that black screen in the wild,
you’ll realise it says much more than just “And then?”.
From down the rabbit hole,
Ana.