‘Zo’ (translated ‘Right’) – in the past always followed by “…time for a Bavaria” – is the famous pay-off for beer brand Bavaria, used whenever someone has accomplished something. This tactical ad (click image for full poster) was made by Selmore to celebrate that King Pils (‘beer’) is replacing Queen Beatrix, and in the sliptstream her comfortable royal seat. If he’s doing his New Year’s speech from a bar stool in the future, we hope he’ll keep it shorter and snappier than his mom.

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.

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.

How to make the super sales – the ‘Three Crazy Days’ or Drie Dwaze Dagen – at luxury department store de Bijenkorf look chique. A difficult task. In the past advertising agency Selmore used, among other things, wildlife predators and a special police force to metaphorically show how the crowd goes wild when hunting for cheap branded stuff. But especially now, with de Bijenkorf having more and more luxury brands on board, the ad should communicate sales, without losing aspiration. And it seems as if Selmore has cracked it. What a beautiful film. Selmore approached Nanine Linning, one of the best Dutch dance choreographers, to create this piece, called ‘Crazy Dance,’ especially for de Bijenkorf. Linning worked in close collaboration with Clara van Gool, an award winning director of dance films. The music was done by Sizzer. For print Selmore worked with dance photographer Kalle Kuikkaniemi. This shows how the world of advertising can reach greater heights when working with specialists from outside the realm of advertising.

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).