Heerlijk,
Helder,
Heineken
Heerlijk, Helder,
Heineken, I could have
thought of it myself
The Dutch equivalent of the 'Heineken
refreshes the parts slogan which has be
come so familiar to British beer drinkers was
'Heerlijk Helder Heineken', conveying to the
Dutch consumer a simple 'tastes good, looks
good' message. Those three words became
an icon for Heineken in The Netherlands, at
football grounds, in commercials, on posters
and billboards and in newspaper advertising...
'Heerlijk Helder Heineken' was everywhere.
The origin of the slogan has been the
subject of much speculation over the years:
was it the product of a creative spirit from
the advertising world, or was it invented by
Alfred Heineken himself? Some years before
his death, he settled the matter once and for
all: the 'mother of all Heineken slogans' had
been dreamt up by an advertising man. "But
I could have thought of it myself," claimed
the ever-resourceful Freddy.
factor which influenced the brand's image. As a young man, he
was highly critical of Heineken's Dutch label: the colour and
typography were all wrong, according to Alfred. The management
at that time was unconvinced: why change the label if the
product was selling well? Alfred Heineken eventually managed to
convince the management and in 1954 the red label was replaced
by a green one. "The old Dutch label was so ugly! The green label,
on the other hand, is elegant, strong and dependable. Green is
the colour of safety: green grass, green treesgreen means
safe." The next step in the metamorphosis was to update the
typography. Alfred didn't like the word Heineken written in
capitals, because it looked too 'stiff. He wanted the word to
convey a sense of happiness and asked a designer to devise a
new font, focusing in particular on the letter 'e'. Alfred Heineken
wanted the 'e' to be an open, 'happy' letter. After much
experimentation, the ideal font was selected, including the tilted
letter which from then on would be known as the 'smiling e'.
