Christian Borstlap proudly presents 5 (out of 7) bulbs to the press – photo by Matthijs Immink. 

Unfortunately it took us half a week to recover from the ADCN (Art Director Club Netherlands) awards (read: the party afterwards). Which is why only now we’re able to do a write up. Anyway, unlike last year the venue (Gashouder, instead of Concertgebouw) and James Bond-inspired opening show were quite impressive; sexy girls, wearing tight latex suits (apparently a special desire of Etcetera’s Peter van Leeuwen), entered a box-ring stage accompanied by pumping music and a light show. It even made us feel a little proud about our industry: “Yeah, we work in advertising, baby!” The English-speaking presenter, Juan Señor, who also does the awards in Cannes, made the chitchat-interviews on stage with the different Jury presidents – just like last year – feel somewhat bipolar. Though we very well understand that the ADCN wants to include the international agencies, most Dutchies were either hard to follow, because of their not so fluent English, or simply doing their speeches in Dutch. But enough about form, let’s talk about the awards. Then again, form won Big last Wednesday. (more…)

Last December Amsterdam agency Indie supported Holland’s biggest charity auction, Serious Request, with among other prizes a very special one: a free TV commercial! As this case film explains, the winner was Ton, owner of Holland’s smallest and eco-friendly Mustard factory. With a staff of only 5 people, he produces organic mustard and mayonnaise in a very environmental friendly way – he even generates his own energy. Last night his commercial was aired, prime time – between the 8PM news and BBC’s Africa, with an estimated audience of 2.5 million viewers. To save energy the commercial broadcasted (almost) 30 seconds of darkness. It’s not, as the case film mentions, the first time in Dutch history (Kanis & Gunnink did more or less the same in 2009), but saving 4.2 million Watts is a “pretty big lamp” – or idea, if you will – indeed. How inspiring. This guy truly deserves an audience for free.

We hadn’t heard of the European Excellence Awards – probably because it’s a PR award show. But we’re paying some attention to it, because one of the better ideas we featured last year was awarded there: the Safe Sound Scooter. It was specially created for Domino’s to spread the taste; the scooter doesn’t say ‘Vroooom’, but ‘Mmmm, tasty.’ And by calling it a ‘Safe Sound Scooter’, the PR story could travel further than solely through advertising/media related titles. It also became general news, since the question whether electric scooters are allowed to make this kind of noise, triggered a broader interest. The answer was ‘yes’ and the government even changed the legislation for electric vehicles. Smart one. The agencies behind it; Indie, Mediatic, and Proudly Presents also won the ‘Best Agency Benelux’ award.

Known for their intelligent lyrics and even for introducing new words in the Dutch language (like ‘watskeburt’) De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig is one of the most loved hiphop bands in the Netherlands for the past years. Indie Amsterdam was able to get (read: pay) one of the singers, Faberyayo (together with Sir OJ and OpslaanAls), to do a ‘one phrase serenade’ to explain to us how great Domino’s’ pizza’s are. The words in the serenade – like ‘meat-machine-feast’ – were crowd sourced through an online activation that asked the consumer to review the newest ham Pizza from Domino’s in one word. The song already got picked up by some radio stations and will be sold in the iTunes store soon. What a ‘deliciata’ piece of advertising.

With only one shortlisted case in Mobile, Amsterdam disappointed us a little this week. Fortunately the only nomination in this growing category was awarded with Silver last night. Yune and XS2TheWorld created an app for the Dutch Railways (NS); an app that allows you to see the Royal waiting rooms of three train stations in 3D – not really a big idea, but a rich visual experience that shows where mobile is going. In Media there were two awards, Silver and Bronze for ALS ‘I have already died’ by Publicis – also winning already in Direct – and ‘Save an orchestra’ for the Dutch Metropole Orchestra (MO) by EuroRSCG, respectively. The latter was a multi-media campaign creating, among other things, a popular number 1 hit by the MO effectively persuading the Dutch government to keep the MO subsidized. In Outdoor the only shortlist nominee, Dominos ‘Safe sound‘  by Indie – an electric scooter making the artificial sound ‘Mmmm,’ didn’t get awarded. To our surprise. It is one of the more truly original ideas coming from Amsterdam this year.

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).

Wow, what a nice idea; an electric (Domino’s delivery) scooter that doesn’t say ‘Vroooooom’, but “Mmmmm, lekker” (‘tasty’). According to Domino’s Pizza it is a ‘safe sound scooter,’ but to us it sounds like guerrilla advertising – or should we call it soundvertising? Anyway, conceived by Indie Amsterdam.

The most entertaining part of a talent show on TV is the first few rounds when the amateurs without talent make a fool out of themselves. That’s most likely what inspired Indie to create these short TV ads for Domino’s. The ‘casting models’ were picked from the street and only got one single take for their 20 seconds of fame. But since “The Domino’s Perfect Pepperoni Deal [is] a deal so perfect that really everyone can sell it” even these talentless salesmen get the message across that Domino’s has a new pizza pepperoni. Very nice. If we would ever eat Domino’s, we would definitely now. Not just because €4 for a pizza pepperoni is dirt cheap, but also because we want to thank Domino’s for donating us this very entertaining piece of user generated branded content. On a dedicated YouTube channel you can watch all the one-takers – even the ones that didn’t make national television – and vote for the best entry. The winner gets one year of free pizza.

Last night Amsterdam won 2 golden design Lions. Amsterdam Worldwide for its Onitsuka Tiger Tansu sneaker (picture) and FHV BBDO for its black Mars packaging (almost) without the iconic Mars logo. Consumers received a sheet of letter stickers to create their own text on the Mars bar. The jury was charmed by the fact that Mars dared to change its world famous packaging so radically. In Cyber Amsterdam won 2 bronze Lions. Achtung! with ‘Public Polo‘ for Volkswagen and Kong (again) with Stanislav for the Ministry of Justice. The day before yesterday we got 2 silver outdoor Lions. Again, one for MINI Christmas box by UbachsWisbrun/JWT and one for Interbest, created by Y&R Not just film. Indie won bronze in radio for Dance4Life.

Source: Adformatie

Last week the Dutch Art Director’s Club (ADCN) awards, or simply the ‘Lamps,’ were divided between the most creative Dutch agencies. DDB was the big winner, with 3 silver Lamps – and 29 nominations, out of 204 nominations. DDB’s best silver Lamp went to its commercial made for Ziggo. DDB’s digital sister, Tribal won two times gold with Carousel for Philips, which is no surprise after having won already so many international prizes. Indie won 2 golden and one silver Lamp; all for Domino’s pizza. Indie’s golden awards both went to ‘Delivery Point‘ (outdoor and activation), silver went to ‘Builders‘. Kong won 2 golden lamps for Stanislav (interaction and activation). Out of the 7 golden and 15 silver Lamps, our most favourite Lamp (gold) went to Kit Kat Jesus by Ubachs Wisbrun/JWT. It’s brilliant in its simplicity and shows you don’t need an incredibly big budget to come up with a great idea.

This guerilla ad by Indie at Amsterdam airport Schiphol is created for the Belastingdienst (national tax collector). Rare species (or parts of them), like an elephants tusk, Ocelot fur, a Ridley turtle and Barrier Reef coral, are being displayed on the baggage belt as if they are souvenirs imported by tourists. All the packages carry the message ‘Something to declare’? It makes you wonder how many innocent tourists actually bring in these kind of goods. If this number is substantial, it will certainly raise the declaration awareness – if not, at least WFF will love them for it! Indie already did this for the Belastingdienst a few years ago. Back then fake lizard and crocodile tales were protruding from suitcases. Unfortunately this will be the very last ad Indie has made for the Belastindienst, since UbachWisbrun/JWT won this client in a pitch last year. Whatever the reason for changing agency, Indie did a great job in transforming the Belastingdienst in a unapproachable fortress to a sympathetic, human organization. And that is a big accomplishment!

Brilliant in its simplicity. This ad by Indie for Dominos doesn’t need much explanation. And that’s a smart thing when you’re talking to hungry builders about pizza. If it’s up to us, prize winning already.

Finally UbachsWisbrun/JWT seems to have taken the big turn. Through Adformatie we learned that the agency has won the prestigious Belastingdienst (National Tax Collectors Office); a several-million-account. DDB, Publicis,  Roorda and Imagine were also involved in the pitch. Through the grapevine we learned that at JWT the champagne has been flowing abundantly. In the last two years the office has only been loosing (important) accounts. After having been ditched by Vodafone (went to They/Achtung!) and Rabobank (went to N=5) the agency shrank from 188 employees to 50. Belastingdienst came from Indie, who owned the account for five years and produced some very smart advertising. Indie literally gave the tax collectors a sympathetic face, which is – if you look at the nature of their ‘business’ – not an easy task. 15 employees were made redundand, because of the loss. Anyway, congrats JWT.

This guerilla ad for Domino’s, doesn’t need much explanation, except maybe that ad agency Indie wanted to explain to the consumer that you don’t need to be at home to order Domino’s; your front door (complete with door bell) can be wherever you want it to be. Another great translation of the pay-off: ‘Man – Hungry – DingDong – Pizza’.

Who wouldn’t want to make advertising for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream! A delicious product, a fun corporate identity (using slogans like “if it’s not fun, why do it”) and sexy mission statement that uses terms like ‘sustainability’, ‘prosperity’ and ‘quality of life’. Inspiration enough to come up with a mind blowing campaign, you would say. So Indie is probably very pleased to become Ben & Jerry’s lead agency in the Netherlands, without even having to pitch for it! Indie’s work for Bolletje must have helped the agency win the account, as its advertising for Bolletje breaths a fun attitude from every single pore.

This weekend ‘Carousel’ for Philips, made by Tribal DDB, won a Film Grand Prix in Cannes! Last week the online case was already awarded with a silver Cyber Lion. According to film jury member Richard Bullock (180 Amsterdam) the jury was unanimous and quick to decide that this was a Grand Prix. David Lubars (BBDO), who presided the film jury, called it mind blowing and said it showed the way forward. True enough; the technique gives an extra (interactive) dimension to film. And when content is fully animated, the viewer can even change the ‘camera’ angle in any desirable way – which we saw earlier this year in the commercial for the game Killzone 2. Other Amsterdam winners in Film: TBWA\Neboko won silver for its Heineken walk-in fridge and bronze for its IDFA films – both commercials won a golden ADCN lamp earlier this year. Amsterdam agencies Indie and Ogilvy also won a bronze Lion for respectively Orange Babies and Sensoor.

‘Ik wil Bolletje!’ (I want Bolletje) is what this lady is thinking while struggling to get into the building. Simple and funny at the same time, that’s what these 10 second commercials are. Also check this one. And this one shows what happens when you finally give in to your craving. They were created by Indie. Three different commercials are shown within a single commercial break. A smart media strategy, since three times 10 must have more impact than one time 30 seconds. The commercials were directed by Richard Boden, who knows well how to handle humour. He directed both Blackadder and ‘Allo ‘Allo at the end of the 80′s. Bolletje, a brand with a heritage of cheeky advertising, has used the phrase ‘I want Bolletje’ since the 50’s already. In 2007 Indie revitalized Bolletje’s brand personality and introduced the thinking balloon as ad property. The first commercials starring the balloon were also directed by Boden.

Agency of the year 2007, S-W-H, changed its name into Indie. Makes sense; we never really understood why so many agencies in an industry that calls itself ‘creative’, weren’t able to come up with a better name than simply the first letters of the founders. But there’s more to it, of course. Lode Schaeffer (the S) is the only founding partner still on board. And after several unsatisfactory talks with different agencies (among them Taxi) about being taken over, current partners Lode Schaeffer and Mark Aink realized that staying independent is more important for them than an early retirement in the south of France. Et voila, a new brand was born. Tim O’Kennedy (ex MD W+K) helped the agency shape its new positioning and The Stone Twins created the new brand identiy. That’s typically S-W-H (or Indie from now on); the agency likes to involve ‘outside’ expertise with a different background to keep it fresh and far away from its comfort zone. Actually, that’s more or less the definition of creativity; bringing together different ideas and merge them into new ones. Good luck, guys!

Last Thursday Boards Magazine organized their first European creative ‘workshop’ in Amsterdam. The theme of the day was ‘The New Age of Storytelling’. Alex Melvin (founder of 180 Amsterdam) and Mark Aink (general manager of S-W-H) co-hosted the day and invited an interesting mix of international and Dutch speakers with different creative backgrounds and inspiring angles on storytelling.
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When the online bank Icesave was offering sky high interest rates last year, the ‘economical’ Dutch en masse moved their virtual savings to the Icelandic bank. But when the credit crunch made the bank fall over, they were left empty handed – that is, almost, since the Dutch government came to the rescue. With this banner, made by S-W-H, placed on the ‘Icelost’ forum, Bolletje offers all the disappointed savers a free breakfast by returning the purchase money on their bank account – with the cheeky text added: “provided that you still have one”. Bolletje has always been known for its Dutch rusk. A few years ago though, the brand radically expanded its product portfolio, changed its package design (BrummelkampHoekstra) and hired a new advertising agency (S-W-H). The perfectly integrated and striking communication this year won a golden ADCN ‘lamp’  – the Dutch equivalent of the D&AD ‘pencils’.

This commercial about ‘Great achievements by men’ for Domino’s was made by S-W-H. With its American voice-over, masculine message and catchy pay-off, you wouldn’t guess it’s from Amsterdam. Earlier work by S-W-H was also inspired by Domino’s’ American roots. Take for example this ‘we are the world’ spoof with the great pay-off: “We pizza promise you that!”. Even though most people obviously associate pizza with Italy, it’s interesting to see how the market of Pizza delivery services is dominated by American flavoured advertising. Beginning of this year Selmore created a ‘genuine’ mafia scene for another player in the category; New York Pizza. The only thing Dutch about it, is the advertiser itself and the fact that you can hear someone curse on national television. In fact, the word ‘fuckin’ was for many a reason to complain with the Dutch Advertising Code (NRC). Fortunately the committee was equipped with a good sense of humor. Instead of a ban, we would like to see it win a lion in Cannes next year.

Erik Wünsch, the founding father and Managing Director of S-W-H (Schaeffer-Wünsch-Has), is leaving his agency. Eleven years after having founded S-W-H Wünsch (47) wants to explore “new creative roads”. These roads might go cross-border, since in todays Adformatie Wünsch explains that he wouldn’t want to work for any other agency in the Netherlands; S-W-H is simply the best. Theoretically he’s right since S-W-H is Agency of the year 2007. So the question is, how will they perform without him. Well, we’re not too worried, if they continue to produce creative stuff like this.