VIENNA, AUSTRIA — From the expansive north to the sunny center and the historically rich south: Each of Burgenland’s three regions is unique in itself and has its distinct character. What they all have in common is the breathtaking landscape characterized by gentle hills, picturesque vineyards, the endless expanse of Lake Neusiedl, and immense culinary diversity.
With these ingredients – and for the second time featuring the character actor Nicholas Ofczarek as the protagonist – Wien Nord Serviceplan has developed this year’s autumn campaign for Burgenland Tourism with a series of short films highlighting Austria’s most breathtaking locations and culinary highlights with “The Best Bits of Burgenland.” The cinematic aesthetic showcases the best food and wine of Burgenland, shot in stunning locations with visual references to cinematic bacchanalian scenes and Old Master paintings of delectable feasts.
The campaign features four 25-second spots directed by Tessa Kadletz (Production company Das Rund), as well as a director’s cut.
The Best Bits of the Lakeside
The Best Bits of Blaufränkisch Country
The Best Bits of Southern Burgenland
The Best Bits of Lake Neusiedl
Director’s cut
Kurt Kaiser, CMO of the Burgenland Tourist board, explained the reasoning behind the second collaboration with one of the most famous actors in the German speaking market: “Last year, Nicholas Ofczarek already captivated audiences in our campaign ‘Character Acting’ that won multiple awards and raised the bar pretty high for this year’s follow-up collaboration. We are convinced that with the help of Nicholas’ unique acting abilities in this series we created a campaign that will meet our strategic objectives and will – in interplay with our numerous marketing measures – inspire even more potential visitors spend their vacation in Burgenland.”
Theater and screen actor Nicholas Ofczarek said of his role in the new campaign: “I believe in times like these it is important to leave audiences some space for imagination. We should not spoon-feed or overexplain every small detail to them. That’s rarely the case in advertising but I think it really pays off in the end to let audiences figure out or interpret certain elements themselves. Behind this production there’s a team of professionals working on every level. That makes the work fun and I hope the outcome will be as fun for everybody.”
With his exceptional screen presence, Ofczarek turns Burgenland into a stage where he performs almost like in an outdoor theater. All it takes for this is a beautiful natural backdrop in the North, Central, and Southern Burgenland. Embedded in all four films is a lavishly set table with culinary delights and the finest wines from each region, while Nicholas uses his acting skills to explore various genres – whether with luxurious gentleness, profound longing, or fervent passion, he embraces the diverse expressions of enjoyment. And for all these facets there are abundant pleasures for the palate to be found. Because “Taste like this only stars in Burgenland!”
Wien Nord Serviceplan Chief Creative Officer Christian Hellinger commented: “Culinary pleasure has many faces. From the finest gourmet cuisine to down-to-earth snacks. From the refined gourmet to the ravenous indulger. Nicholas Ofczarek manages to give a face and a voice to the different forms of enjoyment with just a few words and his incomparable expressive performance. And Burgenland itself is an equally multifaceted supporting actor in this.”
The second campaign featuring Nicholas Ofczarek, the prolific star of movies and TV was again shot by director Tessa Kadletz in cooperation with film production company Das Rund and photographer Felix Vratny.
Filming took place on magnificent open-air stages: at the pier in Mörbisch, at the idyllic Zicklacke in Illmitz, the Donatuskapelle in Neckenmarkt and opulent Burg Schlaining castle in Stadtschlaining. For the culinary presentation, the respective top restaurants in the area coordinated with a special culinary supervisor. Typical regional delicacies such as bean and potato stew, pan-fried pikeperch, red wine braised roast, goose breast, Dobos torte and Ilonka slices were served. Some of these mouth-watering dishes were freshly prepared on set and expertly staged by a food stylist.
Director Tessa Kadletz commented on her time on set, “I learned a lot about the many facets of Burgenland and the great Nicholas Ofczarek during the shoot. But my biggest takeaway: Four pieces of Dobos torte are definitely too much.”
The campaign made its debut on September 18 during a press event at the Filmhaus Vienna movie theater and is now airing in Austria and Germany across TV, radio, digital, social media, print, in special advertising formats and on analog and digital outdoor advertising.
CREDITS:
Client: Burgenland Tourism Board
Creative Agency: Wien Nord Serviceplan, Now Serviceplan
Chief Creative Officer: Christian Hellinger
Creative Direction: Stefan Grgic, Stefan Kopinits
Art Direction: Elisabeth Laggner
Graphic Design: Sophie Gabriel, Sebastian Hofer-Nonveiller
Copywriting: Stefan Grgic, Josephine Gasser
Final Art: Stefan Löffler
Account Direction: Marlene Laimgruber
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: Blautö
