Behind the Scenes at
the Filming of the New
Heineken TV Campaign
When we set out to create a new set of
television commercials for America's
#1 imported beer, we weren't kidding
around. We found one of the country's
top creative advertising groups, a world-
famous actor-director to helm the proj
ect, and a technical crew with hundreds
of commercials worth of experience.
The result? Four attention-grabbing
spots that drive home our new theme:
"When you're done kidding around
Heineken."
In early March, at New York's famous
Silvercup Studios, filming commenced
on what will surely be one of the most
talked about television campaigns of this
year. With veteran film actor Alan Arkin
(whose credits include Catch-22 and
The In-Laws) directing a group of fine
young actors, there was no limit to the
talent (or humor) on the set.
The finished commercials, which will
air this month, each depict a "trendy guy"
explaining what it is that makes him
"hip": including his choice of beer. From
a can that looks like an oil drum to a
beer served with lime, each of our trend-
followers shows that their choice has
more to do with what's "in" than what's
in the bottle. At the end of each spot, the
actor is literally pushed out of the frame
by an inviting shot of the Heineken bot
tle and the tag line "When you're done
kidding aroundHeineken."
With these humorous spots, we're
reminding consumers that the trends
come and go, but only one is consistently
number oneHeineken. The campaign
was created by VMCO's new advertising
agency, Warwick Advertising, to capture
the attention of the younger set of legal-
Below: An overview of just one
of the four Heineken sets in-use.
Bottom Left: Pat Kelly takes di
rection from Alan Arkin. Bottom
Right: Rehearsal-time through,
Kelly goes to work.
