Garoo

The French (or European? don’t know…) Heineken ads are really impressive. So much work over alcohol commercials reminds me of the time when there was a new Absolut visual on the back of each Wired issue, and their anthology could have made a Photoshop Wow! Book # by itself. But, in that case, it was justified: Wired is a publication for wealthy hipsters, and I reckon Absolut has the same target demographic, so it was worth taking time working on the pictures. Whereas… Heineken? Is Heineken a luxury beer? Does it really deserve hiring the best graphics artists around, when you could just take a picture of a naked girl?

However, as compared to the Absolut ads, Heineken’s have a big flaw: they all look the same. On Absolut visuals, only the composition was fixed: a bottle in the center, always the same shape, and the Absolut typo and catchphrase somewhere; the rest was open. All Heineken ads are the same: same green background, same green and yellow objects, same fresh droplets: as a result, a new ad doesn’t really differentiate from an old one at first glance, and hence doesn’t catch the eyes as much as it could. Too bad.

Oh, by the way, abusing alcohol is dangerous for your health, and for the health of people who cross the road while you drive. Do as I do, drink only when you’re invited to a karaoke bar.