This beautiful commercial for Bavaria is created by Selmore, directed by Matthijs van Heijningen (the legendary Dutch film maker) and post produced by 8VFX. It should be no surprise that it immediately made us think of the legendary Noitulove campaign for Guinness by AMV BBDO (Grand Prix, Cannes 2006) – “Good things come to those who wait”. And if you’re asking yourself why the drop, after its epic journey, is disrespectfully being swallowed by a bull dog, you need to know that Bavaria likes to position itself as a down to earth beer, also meant for the man in the street. So even though Bavaria likes to make big budget productions – especially since it has been working with Selmore – and is the “only beer brewed with pure mineral water”, it also comes to those who accidently catch it.

May 2013 is shaping up to become the coldest May since 1901. A bummer when you’ve conceived an activation for Bavaria centred around the popularity of music festivals, enjoying the sun, and drinking beer with your mates – all at the same time. Through a special page and Facebook app consumers can create a festival poster for their own social get together, invite friends, and create a Spotify playlist for the special occasion. And when you buy a six-pack of Bavaria, you get a mini-speaker to make the party complete. A sympathetic idea. Pity the weather is not cooperating. Created by Selmore.

With the phrase “Beer, even on the go,” Bavaria is the first beer brand in 15 years to sell beer at gas stations along the highway. Of course not their regular label, but their 0.0%. To celebrate this milestone, they’ve partly turned a gas station into a bar and dubbed it “Café A4 West.” Not the most attractive place to hang out with your mates, but a piece of ambient advertising with stopping power most definitely. Created by Selmore.

We’re looking forward to the 7th edition of the Panic Room, on May 16^th. The Panic Room, held by hybrid production company PostPanic, is one of the more inspirational events organized in the Dam, we know of. It always invites a handful of the most twisted and brilliant international creative minds to share the inspiration behind their work. Past speakers have included Vincent Fournier (FR), Aaron Duffy (US), Si Scott (UK), Niels Shoe Meulman (NL), and HECQ (Ger). This edition features cheeky Dutch director/artist duo Lernert&Sander, minimalist Norwegian music video/short film director Kristoffer Borgli (check out his recent Real Life Exp. short film) and LA-based director Andrew T. Huang (who turned heads last year with his beautiful Solipsist short film and has since directed Bjork’s latest music video). The evening will be hosted by Fons Schiedon with Massive Music’s Philip Oomen providing the sounds. Just like last time PostPanic would like to invite some ‘younger creatives’, who have never had a chance to attend the Panic Room (because the invite-only guest list usually fills up with the senior advertising folk). If you’d like to attend and can still describe yourself as ‘young’ then send an email (with your age in the subject box) to panicroom@postpanic.net. The first 10 emails get an invitation. Hope to see you there on May 16^th!

Yet another aspiring concept by KLM, Tribal DDB, and sister agency RAPP. On April 22nd KLM will launch a high altitude balloon in the Nevada Desert, equipped with a camera and GPS-tracker to stream the real time data of the flight to a website, so that the balloon’s progress can be followed. As we’ve all learned from the idea that probably inspired this concept (a dad and son sending an iPhone towards space) the balloon will pop at some point – not in space, actually, but quite far away from it. On the website you can predict where it’ll pop – both the height and the position on the map. The winner will win a flight into space. Simple as that. Once you’ve chosen a spot in space, you can increase it, and thus the chance of winning, by asking friends to endorse you – read: spread the idea through social media. The idea is not just great in its simplicity, but also shows how a crafty execution can really make an idea; the visuals, interaction design, and sound turn it into an extremely attractive experience. Produced by Media Monks and the sound was done by MassiveMusic, Kaiser Sound Studios, and Media Monks.

During carnival – which ends more or less today – it’s hard to make yourself understood. Not just to because your speech might slur a little, but also because of the noise and the bartender being too far away. So, a device that helps you to write down your order over and over again – you can swipe the message clean, doesn’t need a mobile connection, and even carries your drinks, seems a soberly smart solution. Since Bavaria is based in Lieshout, in the heart of the carnival action, the ‘praatplaat’ makes an excellent marketing premium coming with two six-packs of Bavaria. Created by Natwerk.