What a perfect idea. A ‘KINGsize’ peppermint roll specially made for the coronation of Prince Willem Alexander. Instead of the usual brand name King (a Dutch brand that exists since 1922), it reads: “His majesty King Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands, Prince of Oranje-Nassau” – three new titles for the Prince becoming King. 1000 copies of this limited edition roll, measuring 1 meter in length and containing 189 peppermints, will be handed out to the public during Queensday – or actually Kingsday, as from tomorrow. The idea was conceived by Being There.

Created by 180 Amsterdam for the überhip new barber Barber in the Binnen Oranjestraat 24 that not just does shaves and trims, but also offers you a whiskey when they’re taming your beast.

Impact-wise this film is quite similar to the previous Amnesty International commercial we featured on this blog last summer – ‘Hooded.’ This one leans heavier on the confronting and almost poetic (“the silence whispers in your ear at night”) copy. If the rotten smell, the thirst, and even the bruises and cigarette burns become your allies, because they tell you you are still alive, then you easily believe that the silence makes you feel invisible, and that there’s even a point where you can’t remember the sound of sound. The alarm clock at the end annoyed us a little, but maybe it should. It wakes you up and tells you need to take action to end the silence. Craftfully created by CCCP.

What a great idea; instead of offering WiFi Kit Kat simply offers the opposite. The ambient advertising that can be found throughout Amsterdam, was created by JWT Amsterdam and designed by Kyoko Takeshita. It pretty much speaks for itself as it seamlessly fits in Kit Kat’s famous brand proposition ‘Have a break, have a Kit Kat.’ What’s interesting to add is that JWT made this “free” No-WiFi zone possible by actually blocking all signals within a radius of 5 meters. (via Pop the Campaign)

“How to present Heineken as a global Amsterdam brand?” is probably what the briefing asked. And then Tribal DDB conceived this very sympathetic idea; two ‘regular guys’ have to meet 194 nationalities, in 14 days, in 1 city. Makes the brand more personal, without losing its global aspirations. As we speak, Barnaby Slater and Mick Johan (from the UK and the Netherlands) only have about 3 days left, and still 94 nationalities to go. So you’d guess they are not going to make it. But that doesn’t matter because as the Facebook page shows, it is all about the experience of meeting so many different people with so many different backgrounds. The only thing that bothered us is that the UX design of the Facebook page is not ideal (partly due to Facebook’s restrictions) – e.g. a wider page with more clickable thumbnails, directly visible, would have worked better. But that’s a detail, we love the idea. Created by Tribal DDB and directed by Sam de Jong from production company 100% Halal.

Vodafone introduces The Company Voice of Holland, a smart variant of the popular talent show on TV. Together with agencies Achtung! and THEY, Vodafone is looking for the receptionist with the best voice. The online audition – built by This Page Cannot Be Found – is done, quite appropriately, through the telephone. By means of ‘advanced technology’ (whatever that means), the voice of the contestants is analysed in real-time and they are given feedback straight away. The winning receptionist, announced on the 21^st of December on Business News Radio, receives a private office concert by one of the Voice’s finalists. The activation should promote One Net, a new phone service that integrates mobile and landlines, which is a blessing for business lines. What a smart way to reach this very specific target group – that is essential in convincing companies to use One Net – with such relevant content. Well done.

Waving your friends goodbye at Amsterdam airport Schiphol is now possible without having to go to the airport. You (and your friends) just wave in front of your webcam through the ‘Wave goodbye’ app on Facebook. With this app Schiphol hopes to compete with other airports in the Netherlands – that are growing because of all the budget airlines. Nice one by FHV/BBDO (concept), Woodwork (animation), and MediaMonks (technical realisation).

Nice one. That’s what we thought when we came across this idea. Dairy brand Melkunie is proud of giving its cows the freedom to graze. And that’s how Isobar was inspired to build this cow bingo Facebook app. It’s quite simple; out of 24 cows, you can choose the first 5 cows to leave the meadow to get back in their stables at the end of the day. Since they all cross the same sensored opening in the fence and have a chip around their neck, the ‘draw’ takes place automatically and can be followed live at 4 pm every day via a webcam. And, as Isobar subtly mentioned to us, Melkunie doesn’t use ‘bribed media,’ which means you don’t have to become ‘Friends’ with them to participate – though, speaking of bribing, you do get an extra bingo card for it. We do realize this concept is somewhat similar to the cow dong concept by Natwerk, but Cow Bingo definitely takes things to the next level.

Though quite well made, it’s not really this film that struck us. It’s especially the idea behind it; letting the crowd direct a live thriller – with well-known Dutch actors – through Twitter, to happen on August 6, 6.30 pm with the hashtag #NFF2012. Execution-wise this will probably  be a nightmare (no pun). And the result will most likely prove that co-creation only works under strict circumstances. But nevertheless a good way to generate some buzz around the Dutch Film Festival. Created by Woedend! and directed by Martijn de Jong (WeFilm).

Scary shit. Seeing torture from underneath a hood makes you almost feel what it’s like. Since you don’t see too much of what is actually happening, it’s especially the sound design that makes you gasp for air. Created for Amnesty International, the film was directed by Camille Herren (Comrad), in collaboration with Judd Caraway and Marc Hawker. Sound design by Audentity and post-production by Glassworks Amsterdam.