A Swedish company invited Americans to escape Trump and it worked too well

(Getty Images)

The day before Donald Trump won the election over Hillary Clinton, the Swedish ad agency Round & Round put out an invitation to all Americans: Escape Trump. Come work in Sweden.

Mostly a joke, the invitation came with a catch: All applications would be opened only if Trump pulled out a win.

Two months later, the nearly 900 applications the agency has received now seem bittersweet.

"A lot has happened since November," Round & Round's head of content, Nahir Aslan, told the Swedish edition of the Local news site on Friday, the day Trump became the 45th US president. "We've had a whopping 857 applicants for one job, which is both fantastic for us, and regrettable for the world. It's remarkable how the campaign has played out."

On November 7, Round and Round, one of the leading agencies for major Swedish brands, told visitors on a newly listed website, "The Great Trump Escape," that, "You are looking for a new country, we are looking for new talent!"

It cited a poll in which one in four Americans said they would look to leave the US if Trump won as the main reason for the launch.

Andreas Ullenius, Round and Round's executive creative director and cofounder, told Business Insider after the launch that he wished he weren't moving forward with the campaign.

"Unfortunately, I wish we would have Hillary for president and no applications," he said.

According to The Local, hundreds of people applied in earnest, but many applied out of the very kind of hopelessness the initiative half-jokingly served.

"It's definitely mixed emotions," Aslan said. "We definitely didn't hope for this when we were trying to tap into the discussion. Then it played out as it did."

Sweden's residency process is actually much simpler than that of Canada, perhaps the most popular future home cited by disenchanted Americans.

It is relatively easy even to become a Swedish citizen. Though learning the local tongue definitely helps, prospective Swedish citizens don't technically need to learn Swedish. They must only spend five years in the country, avoid committing any crimes, and — as competitive as it may be, postelection — find a job.

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