This website was made by EuroRSCG Amsterdam. Through a security camera, you can follow the indecisiveness of a KFC customer ‘live’ – but not really. As if to say, at KFC it all looks so good, it’s too hard to make a choice. If you guess what he will eventually choose, you can win ‘fantastic prizes’. In itself a nice idea. But it immediately made us think of the subservient chicken, made by Crispin Porter + Bogusky for Burger King in 2004. It went very viral and was one of the first great examples of the interactive potential of online advertising. Although the KFC guy is not dressed up like a chicken (he only wears a fake beard) and does not do funny moves on request, it is the poor quality of the footage, the fake perception of live action and the funny ‘highlights’ that it has in common with the Burger King ad. And of course the CP+B campaign was (ironically) also promoting chicken. If you think the link to the Burger King campaign is too farfetched; the website even more reminds us of a commercial from the other big fast food chain; McDonald’s. In 2007 TBWA\Neboko made a commercial with kids not being able to choose at the counter. The pay-off: lots of variation in our happy meals, makes it a tough choice.

Heineken has a history of launching premiums – to be obtained through a crate of beer – before the European and World Championship of football. The last 4 tournaments Heineken’s agency TBWA created all sorts of hats that enabled the audience to make some noise during the matches – last time, in South Africa, it was the Pletterpet. This spring – getting ready for Euro2012 – Heineken (and TBWA) not only exchanged the hat for a shirt, it also changed the tone of the commercial around the event. The advertising now feels weirdly incongruent; it starts with three guys that seem to have walked out of a bad Italian car commercial. And then it continues with ‘international’ shots. Even the ‘drinking-with-mates-in-a-bar’ shot is anything but Dutch – with fake bar and exotic models. The only thing that is really Dutch about the commercial is the KLM plane wearing an orange shirt and the ‘haha’ joke with ex international Ronald Koeman at the end. It feels as if the Dutch beer brewer was in a split between being the global, cosmopolitan brand and a chauvinistic football friend that wants to sell as much beer as possible in the supermarket. Well, in our opinion, it’s none of the above and stuck in the middle. And when you ask yourself what’s up with the numbers, you have to guess, cause the voice-over only speaks of supporting Orange with ‘your legendary deed.’ Oh well, whatever, we’ll probably drink a few Heinies during Euro2012 anyway.

Imagine you enter a hotel room before visiting a Champion’s League match and you find the trophy ‘with the big ears’ in your room. Wow! Nice! Yep, that’s how we would react. Though we always doubt the authenticity of case films – they almost never feel entirely real – we have to say this makes quite a sympathetic ad. Especially the guy taking a quick picture before he opens the door, made us smile. The concept reminds us of of the Italian Heineken ad that won a golden Lion in Cannes in 2010. The concept: football fans are taken to a classical concert by their girlfriends during the Champion’s League final. But not really; they get to watch the final on a big screen. Clearly a strategy/concept with mileage. Created by the United States of Fans.

We learned a new word today; ‘captcha’ – the text you need to fill out in an online form to make sure you’re not a bot. TBWA used it to promote a free eye exam at Pearle opticians. The hard to read captcha on the left changed into the banner on the right; ‘Time for an eye exam’. The banner directed the consumer to the Pearle site where an appointment could be made. Simple but sweet.

A guerrilla make-over to promote Holland’s largest DIY, Gamma’s wallpaper. The pay-off: “Isn’t it beautiful?” Well, if you’re asking our opinion; no this wallpaper is not beautiful. But the idea is though. Created by TBWA\Neboko.

Yacco Vijn leaves digital agency Kong (N=5′s digital sibling) to become Managing Creative Director at TBWA\Neboko alongside Bas Engels. It was a hard decision for Vijn, but the fact that TBWA has been so consistent in its creative success over the past decade and the fact that he leaves Kong in good shape, made him decide to accept this new adventure. By hiring Vijn TBWA wants to incorporate digital in its DNA, which is different from previous attempts to found separate digital agencies; first agency.com and a few years ago Flow – both attempts failed. When we asked Vijn what he thinks of becoming MCD at an agency known for being especially good in making (Dutch) TVC’s, he told us that ‘digital’ is becoming obsolete: “The term is slowly eroding; when I go to a shop to buy a camera, I’ll ask for a camera, not a digital camera. It’s obvious that it will be digital – everything is. I think the time is ripe to stop putting digital labels on agencies and go for integrated by default“. Wise words. Floris Hülsmann, who ironically enough left Flow last year to join Kong, will be taking over Vijn’s role until Kong has found a replacement.