Brewers don't have to be good talkers.
When you make a great beo; you donï have to make a great fuss.
Luck also plays a role in a prod
uct's success, Mr Heineken concedes:
"The Heineken name is God-given.
It's a beer word. A little bit German-
sounding and with a diminutive ring
to it, which draws affection".
As chairman of the board of direc
tors of Heineken Holding N.Y., Mr
Heineken now says his role in adver
tising is minimal. Nevertheless he has
just commissioned a video of this
year's commercials "to check the
quality of the filming". "The cost of
shooting commercials is sometimes
outrageous with a large number of
people flying to the Caribbean,
whereas the actual film crew is quite
small", he adds.
Mr Heineken continues: "Too
many middlemen are in a position to
hamper good ideas...that is their job.
More good campaigns are killed than
not. Why? Because agencies are the
most scared people in the world, they
are always worried about losing an
account", he says.
Crossroads
Mr Heineken believes advertising
is currently at the crossroads. "We
now have to look deeper into human
nature. We need to know why people
act like they do. Why wear a blue
dress rather than a red skirt? We will
have to penetrate into the subcons
cious and unconscious, enter their
minds", he says.
He continues: "Today's commer
cials are too short and a lot of them
are trash and crass. Many people
don't have enough time to take in the
message. The ad people see the thing
over and over again before it goes out.
But what about the housewife in the
provinces? Research shows one out of
seven viewers don't understand the
message".
Despite his criticism, Mr Heineken
remains a firm believer in the adver
tising industry. Asked to reflect about
the industry's importance, he an
swers: "In the end life is all about
advertising. If you want to woo a girl
you advertise yourself. Take her out
to dinner, instinctively showing her
that you can take care of her. It's in
our genes. Again it's communication".
THE WORLD OF HEINEKEN
