Digital agency Qi was founded in the 90s and therefore one of the first online ad agencies in Amsterdam. And although today most of its digital competitors are so much younger, the agency is still known for its fresh and innovative work. For a big part this can be attributed to the long-lasting relationship with Heineken. The world famous brewer has always given Qi the freedom to experiment and to venture into new digital areas. Not without success; a wide range of impressive, award-winning work over the past years is the result.

www.qi-ideas.com

Kraanspoor 12-14
1033 SE Amsterdam
+31 (0)20 531 0870
info@qui-ideas.com

It has probably been done before, but that doesn’t matter, because this online ad agency ('Papercut') simulator is very well executed by real life agency Qi. It was initiated by the VEA (Association of Advertisers) to give secondary school students a peek into the world of advertising. The site takes them by the hand in learning the ins and outs of the advertising process; there’s a difficult client - lingerie brand Guilty – a briefing, a timeline and a team of typical ad people. There are phone conversations, difficult questions, brainstorms, strategic positioning diagrams, sketches, traffic problems, deadlines and client presentations. Thoroughly done and very educational. It must have been a time consuming project! So either Qi got heavily underpaid or the VEA is very rich. In any case, a good way to persuade teenagers towards advertising at a relatively young age.

Two weeks ago, we shared the wonderful walk-in fridge commercial for Heineken. And yesterday we found out that Qi created a virtual walk-in fridge to translate the commercial online. On the dedicated site you can open different Heineken bottles/cans with the pointer of your mouse. Skilfully made and also making us very thirsty. The only pity is that the site doesn't really match with the TV commercial. So our suggestion to Heineken; next time try to bring the agencies together in an earlier stage of conceptualization.