Last January Heineken released the vibrant “The Entrance” introducing a complete new advertising property. Today Heineken releases the sequel; The Date – shot in London at Le Meridien Hotel and the Rivoli Ballroom. Just like the previous commercial, the James Bond-like look and fool (leading your date through a restaurant kitchen is so 007) is to charge the brand further with an aspirational, cosmopolitan personality. The film was created by the same team of Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam and again directed by Frederik Bond (Sonny). That’s why if feels so similar. It is nice to see that there are still brands that believe that continuity builds strong brands. The soundtrack (even catchier than the soundtrack in the first commercial) is the 1960’s Bollywood track “Jaan Pehechaan Ho” from the 1965 movie Gumnaam – originally performed by Mohammed Rafi and playbacked here. W+K also released some bonus material; The making of. Not your standard ‘making of’ though, but one made with ‘joie de vivre’ and lots of CG jokes. If we weren’t already, this would want to make us work in advertising. O.k., that’s it, and now we’re thirsty.

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.

Photo: Maurice Mikkers
The biggest winner last night at the ADCN (Dutch Art Director’s Club) awards was Lemz. All the ‘bulbs’ – of which one was a Grand Prix (the very best integrated work) – went to their Fireworks campaign. Our very favourite campaign of the year Domino’s Pizza Pepperoni by Indie won one Golden and two Silver bulbs (TV, internet and activation) – in our opinion it was at least as good as Lemz’ work. Wieden also won one Gold and two Silver for Heineken’s ‘The making of The Date’ (internet, TV, and activation). Selmore won Gold for Bavaria and Hugh Heffner – so we can be sure that Charlie Sheen will also win Gold next year. We were a bit surprised that N=5 won Gold for Telfort – not really our taste. Y&R won one Gold and two Silver for LG’s ‘smart thief‘ (internet, TV, and viral). A bit strange that alle these films are winning different prizes for the different channels through which they are broadcasted – does the channel matter? Another one of our favourites was Hema’s with a push-up bra in print, promoted by a male model, going viral big time – by Doom & Dickson. It won Gold and Silver. Note: Hema is one of the most down to earth department stores in the Netherlands. TBWA won Gold with its print campaign for DIY chain Gamma; free Lego – “Just like dad.” In Interactive Tribal DDB won Gold and Silver for ‘Obsessed with Sound’ for Philips. One of the most impactful commercials of the year by Publicis for ALS won Silver – “I have died by now.” Special bulbs went to Mischa Rozema (for directing OFFF), Christian Borstlap (art direction and illustration, for LV and Mr Porter), and Simon Warner (photgraphy, for Octopus).

Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam has promoted Clay Mills to Managing Director. He follows up Lee Newman, who was appointed as MD in 2008. Newman will become president at O&M Chicago. Mills was hired by Wieden in 2010 as Group AD on Heineken. Since his hiring Heineken became one of Wieden’s more profitable and successful accounts, making the agency even lead this year’s Gunn report. Prior to W+K Amsterdam, Mills worked at JWT New York, and BBH in New York and London. ECD’s Mark Bernath and Eric Quennoy about Mills’ appointment: “Spending the last two years making the Heineken work with Clay has been one of the more enjoyable experiences of our careers. You have to work with people who make work feel more like having fun. That’s when the best stuff happens. Of course, you can’t have fun without being dead serious and smart about what you’re doing. A balance that Clay gets as good as anyone.”

Earlier this week we wrote about EA’s Grand Slam Tennis 2, today we’re writing about yet another EA game, called FIFA Street. Just like GST2 this one also shows some in-game footage – probably a client mandatory – but what is different about it, is that it’s all about real life swagger. A dude with a bowler hat, a DJ, a monkey, a girl with white sneakers and golden legging, and some old school TV’s being smashed by the ball. And some dinstinguished copy: “Welcome to the home of hustle…to the school of swagger. Abracadabra. This is the birthplace of every move you’ve ever seen.” It feels a bit wannabe cool, though we instantly admit that we might just be getting a little too old for this stuff – we’re more the FIFA ‘normal’ generation. In any case, if you want to ‘Free Your Game’ FIFA Street is clearly the way forward. Created by Wieden+Kennedy, directed by Paulo Gandra and Steve Hudson (Hungry Man).