VIENNA, AUSTRIA — Top Kino cinema in Mariahilf, Vienna, premiered a film on September 05 starring famed Austrian actor Nicholas Ofczarek as the new wine ambassador of Burgenland Tourism. Nicholas is more than a brand ambassador as he embodies the characters of six renowned wines in a series of six film clips; each wine represents a different region in Austria known for quality wine.
This was the impetus behind a new Burgenland Tourism campaign titled “So einen Wein spielt’s nur da” (“Wine like this only stars here”), conceived by the House of Communication Vienna.
In what is probably the most extraordinary role of his career, Nicholas embodies the character of the wines themselves through his signature character acting. Unusually for a wine advertisement, there is no Burgenland wine on display in the films, instead, Nicholas himself takes on the character of six renowned Burgenland wines, in six 17” spots directed by production company Das Rund’s Tessa Kadletz, and a series of print ads and a social media campaign.
In the six spots, Nicholas takes on the character of the six iconic Burgenland wines; Leithaberg DAC Pinot Blanc, Neusiedlersee DAC Zweigelt, Rosalia DAC Rosé, Mittelburgenland DAC Blaufränkisch, Eisenberg DAC Blaufränkisch and Ruster Ausbruch DAC. Nicholas acts out qualities of the wines usually described by oenophiles using terms such as “raw,” “edgy,” “velvety,” and in one of the spots, which are all filmed in Burgenland vineyards, he bites a piece of flint found in the soil. He brings the skill of his acting to the campaign, and without dialogue conveys the character of each wine, such as acidity, tannins, body, sweetness, and alcohol.
“To have the character of wine portrayed by an actor is a nice idea. To have a master of his craft like Niki Ofczarek thrilled with it, even faced with a challenge, is even nicer. His commitment and talent make this campaign unique,” Stefan Kopinits, the creative director at Wien Nord Serviceplan said,
Verena Kehr, the general manager of Mediaplus Austria added, “The cross-national campaign with a moving image focus makes it clear that the wines of Burgenland are not just products, but high culture. The individual advertising media pick up on Ofczarek’s character portrayals and translate his acting to the respective medium in a way that is appropriate for each channel.”
In addition to Ofczarek’s expressive acting on TV, audio, web videos, and on social media, print ads and posters also feature specially designed lettering that underscores the characters of the wines in writing as well, completing the multimedia creative concept.
“The fact that the idea offers potential for every touchpoint gave us the freedom to remain uncompromising in the creative implementation. At this point, many thanks to Niki Ofczarek and Burgenland Tourism Board, who recognized the boldness of the concept and went down this courageous path with us,” said Matthias Piskernik, Wien Nord Serviceplan Creative Director.
The campaign launched across all channels on September 05, implemented in collaboration with film production Das Rund, photographer Felix Vratny, sound studio Blautöne and the illustrators from HFA Studio.
CREDITS:
Client: Burgenland Tourism Board, Wine Tourism Burgenland
Creative Agency: Wien Nord Serviceplan, Now Serviceplan
Chief Creative Officer: Christian Hellinger
Creative Direction: Stefan Kopinits, Matthias Piskernik
Art Direction: Stefan Kopinits, Elisabeth Laggner
Copywriting: Matthias Piskernik, Josephine Gasser
Final Art: Stefan Löffler
Client Service Direction: Daniela Gullner, Kurt Kaiser
Account Management: Maria Simmer
Media Agency: Mediaplus Austria
General Manager: Verena Kehr
Film Production: Das Rund
Director: Tessa Kadletz
DOP: Flora Fecske
Producer: Jörg Bonner
Photographer: Felix Vratny
SFX: Blautöne
Illustration: HFA Studio
