Marcel @ Amsterdam tattoing campaign (poster / guerrilla)

Campaign for Marcel@Amsterdam tattooing: At Least Tattoos are permanent.
Marcel wanted to be famous. He had inked famous people, he had inked large areas of bodies, he had inked his way across the world - yet this wasn't enough. Marcel wanted to ink even more.

In the world of throw-away culture and single serving salt, we pointed out that while trends may come and go, tattoos are more permanent than anything.

As the rain drizzled over Amsterdam in May red graffiti showed up everywhere, on containers, garbage cans, building sites, anywhere. The graffiti would only last a day or three before the rain washed it away.

The graffiti police grew concerned as anything decaying was sprayed with the red rain-away spray. Garbage containers, construction sites, garbage cans, boards in front of torn down buildings.

Two weeks later - three executions of a poster campaign was plastered all across town. The images depicted non permanent things, and they were printed on heat sensitive paper.

The posters reacted to sun rather than rain. As the sun bleached the images away the only thing remaining was the line. At least tattoos are permamenent.

Marcel was pleased. So pleased he inked the Art Director and framed the Epica award in his tattoo-parlor, next to the flash art and various inkmagazines mention of the campaign.

After a week in the bright light, the images faded away, much like the things they depicted, leaving only the red tagline.

These posters are on permanent exhibition in Marcel's tattoo shops in Amsterdam.

Adland campaign (print)

These ads; written by Kapil Kachru , shot by Miklas Njor, art directed by Åsk Wäppling

This ad ran in ghost magazine (Brazil) in the middle as a fold-out - just like a Playboy foldout. ;) Ghost is a magazine dedicated to 'ghost' ads.

click on the images if you wish to download a printable pdf.

Carlsberg - Not Our Beer [English]

When I was briefed on this Carlsberg ad, the running tagline was "vores øl" - which means "our beer".
This naturally lead to the thought - what would happen if it wasn't?
In the end, this ran in danish movie-theatres with the tag: "Ikke vores øl" - Not our beer.

CD: Patrik Isaak Saatchi and Saatchi
AD: Lars Busekist, AD: Åsk Wäppling. CW: nobody
of that title worked on the project. ;-)
Director: Stein Leikanger DP: John

ProduktionsPrisen Diplom, Arnold 1996

Hot-Orange ad

Hot orange wanted to attract 50,000 user signups before a certain date and had a competition where you could win an audi tt - in the color hot orange. we created an ad that looked a lot like an Audi TT announcement ad weeks before audi released the tt's in holland.
copywriter: mark jones art director: Åsk Wäppling
agency: schaeffer wunch has [now known as S-W-H]
Amsterdam. Creative Directors: Lode Schaeffer & Erik Wünsch

Telia Minicall - Fishing trip [Swedish TV]

agency: Drömfabriken Stockholm
copy CD: mikael malmborg artCD: Johan Jäger
"idéspruta": Åsk Wäppling (skrev kampanjen)

This campaign is actually how I got hired at Drömfabriken.
As by lucky coincidence it was the very same brief that Malmborg was working on when I arrived with this concept sketched up in my backpack.

The similarities of our campaigns was eerie - though my tagline was much longer "med telia minicall blir du nådd, inte störd" or something like that. Crazy huh? Mikael already had "Bli Nådd. Inte Störd" in his roughs and the result is above. Spooky coincidence.

Bli nådd. Inte störd = Be reached. Not Interrupted.
It's really no wonder Michael wrote the much better line (in my humble opinion), His Mum taught Swedish classes and wrote several Swedish language books used in Swedish schools. Apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and all that. ;)

Telia Minicall - Har varit på semester...[Swedish TV]

For those not familiar with Swedens prisons, this man is standing outside of Kumla - our "alcatraz".
agency: Drömfabriken Stockholm
copy CD: mikael malmborg artCD: Johan Jäger
"idéspruta": Åsk Wäppling

Telia Minicall - Roulette [Swedish TV]

This boy does not want to work during the weekend. No way. Nuh-uh. Nope.

agency: Drömfabriken Stockholm
copy CD: mikael malmborg artCD: Johan Jäger
"idéspruta": Åsk Wäppling (skrev kampanjen)

Unicef - raising money for children [Danish TV]

agency: none involved.

client Unicef, production: Blarke Sonne Levring
Thomas Romlöv (producer) & Åsk Wäppling
Voiceover: Ole Rabendorff

Feel good ad. A slight shame that actual ideas were turned down in favour for the usual docu-shots, but it was a real pleasure to get to work with this voiceover - also, a huge feel good boost when Unicef sent me a card thanking us for helping them raise more than two million kronor. Who cares if it's not an award winner when it wins hearts?

absolut adland - a one-off, topical ad (print)

copyright Åsk Wäppling, jane goldman 2002

Single page ad created to run only once, in the Absolut sponsored Ghost issue [issue 2 2002].
Ghost = lürzers archive style magazine, but with 'ghost' ads in it. produced in Brazil, members worldwide. For a printable .pdf simply click the image.

Amsterdam riddle campaign for sonox.com

Sonox.com is a Swedish site that sells underground, hard to get your hands on music on the net.

They , being music-buffs themselves, dig further to find new unknown but terribly talented artists and - unlike Napster - take good care to give the artists their rights to each song.

Since the site caters to the deep into music types, with updated music information and clubland tales of dirty deeds, complete with places on the site for playlist-swapping and trade information about gigs, the ads were designed to attract only those in the know, and the very curious.

At the same time, they spit out an affordable CD, in any way you like it. Pick your favorites, buy per song, and have sonox burn the CD and ship it off to you.

Early one morning posters popped up in musically strategic music hot spots all over Amsterdam, framing not an ad, but the view behind it.

Like a three dimensional rebus you can only see what the poster means when you stand in front of it and look straight through it.

On one site the poster frames a large rock, and adds the word "+Steady", so the result reads "Rock Steady", a style of music available at sonox.

There are hundreds of music sites on the net that burn CD's and sell MP3's. We are simply not interested in gathering the Britney Spears crowd to this site of rare grooves.

We want to speak to the hard core music obsessed people.

This was the first poster in series of riddles placed along musically strategic routes (next to vinyl-shops and close to concert halls) in Amsterdam.

These posters got attention. Not only from the Dutch Tradepress such as NiewsTribune and Adformatie, but also from Creativity Magazine across the atlantic. Bassic Groove grooved to the idea too.

In other areas around Amsterdam, posters frame trunks of trees with the word = "Roots", for the style of music called Roots. In another the poster frames a ship, ("-S +Hop") to read Hip Hop, and yet another framed a large electric box ("-ric +ronica") to read Electronica. Even streetsigns were used as a "Dead end" sign becomes the "T" in trance.

press clippings

"The underground site sonox.com brings you music from rare labels and artists."

My dutch is terrible. I can't really translate what the
Nieuwstribune (above) said, but it was all good.

Dabitch is Back
ad age's Creativity magazine march 2001

Though every new hotshops boasts that it's "not for everyone" for Amsterdam agency wa, the claim may actually be true . wa meaning harmony in japanese, was formed by Ab winsemius, a former "strategy guy" at Kesselskramer, and Åsk Wäppling. an art director by day and maverick industry commentator by night. Wäppling is the mistress and founder of ad-rag.com, a web destination for industry news, gossip, and rants, her online persona is called 'Dabitch'. The site is very popular with ad insiders, despite, (or thanks to) its many caustic comments.
Wäppling is not particurlarly worried that her sharp wit will affect her business prospects with wa. "The clients who will be talked badly about on the site are not the ones we want to work with," she shrugs. And the clients she does want are finding their way to wa's door; she has already produced an unusual outdoor and print campaign for swedish music site Sonox.com , and the agency is slated to work on Jolt Cola's dutch advertising.
"I realized that you have to follow Bill Bernbach's rule," says Wäppling: "Don't work for clients you don't belive in."

Baby 2.5 children dinner party (event)

The 2.4 children party at Baby

Dad" got drunk on beer and genever, singing operettas for our entertainment. Yatzi and Monopoly were laid out, underwear hung in the ceiling to dry.
"Mom" knitted all evening and nagged us to eat our greens.
The walls showed home movies from 1960's Ghana, 1970's North Carolina, birth, baptisms and marriages, and every vacation destination in between.
Our comfort food with bangers and mash was served in TV-dinner tin plates.

We laughed, we were embarrased, we were grounded.

45 guilders for the pleasure of homecooked meals and monopoly.

Baby dinners were arranged once a month for Baby's members and
guests. The Party-Slut's arranged the 2.4 children dinner party, and the Horror Dinner party , serving culinary delights such as hitchhiker fries, brains in blood sauce, wine and eyeballs to zombie like creatives that played too much Resident Evil before dinner, somehow without spoiling their appetite.

The Party-Slut's are: Jan Dirk Bouw art (&installation art), David Bell copy, Åsk Wäppling art (graphics).

Massive Music and Condor party - Cannes 2000 - Politics

It's time for another Cannes party. This time, like the elections later in the year, the party's theme is politics, something every creative who made it to Cannes is intimatly familiar with. Decoration ranged from fake Sun-style headlines, thousands of ballons, actual dirty money to buy your drinks with, and a free cigar to everyone who arrived.

The party-slut's arranging the 2000 party are: Jan Dirk Bouw art, David Bell copy, Åsk Wäppling art, Hans Brouwer, music.

on the left side of the entrance to Place Galion, Massive Music's poster advertising their "listening party" abilities.

...and in the other corner of the ring - Condor "the party with a vision"

Our french announcer carried political braodcasts all over Cannes with his golden speakers blaring out marching music, drumming up the political fever we need tonight. To the left is Jan Dirk Bouw and the dress with balloons is yours truly.

we spent the day decorating the venue, checking the sound, brainstorming with the MC's and coordinating when and where the suprises and acts would appear, not to mention inflating thousands of balloons...

20 minutes until party time. Dave here will be one of the MC's of this evening political razmatazz, announcing acts, directing attention to the free booze and the fake cocaine piles. He might improvise nearly every night with Boom Chicago in Amsterdam, but tonight at midnight he
will announce the greatest political leader in the U.S today in hyped up technotrance as a giant dick dances up on the stage and eventually sprays shaving cream all over the dance floor, which we must say is a highlight in his improv career. Both Boom Chicago MC's made the event outragously funny together with the Penis-dancer, which was Nepco performers.

Our Marilyn - this little lady (she's less than a meter tall)
performed as Marilyn singing "happy birthday Mr President" filling the stage with the more seductive side of politics, glittering in the spotlight just like Marilyn did. She needn't had been so nervous as her performance was big hit.
Later she walked her poodles around the party and shared champagne with the guests. I'm not sure who is in which poodle outfit - but the performers are all Nepco.

Soundscape Condor party Cannes 1999 - "Religion" (event)

Soundscape and Condor Cannes party 1999 - Religion is opium.
Religion, faith and Gods frequent Cannes during each festival, so why not make them feel at home? At the plage du Galion we set up heaven on the beach and invited all faithful to join us.

The guards were dressed as guardian angels with white afro's, silver dresses and pink sunglasses. The faithful served with Holy water that would chase the hangovers away as they left. The drink tickets were edible oblates. The walls showed visuals of heaven and hell.

Party-Sluts 1999, Åsk Wäppling art/videojockey, Jan Dirk Bouw art, David Bell copy, Hans Brouwer music.

The posters depicted our leaders - Hans of Soundscape and Rob of Condor - the large posters hung outside the party palais entrance to lead beleivers down the right path. 3D illustrations by Koony at Condor.

Once the party got started, the magical guests appeared courtesy Nepco. You don't have to have delusions to dance with pink elephants.

Even Shiva graced us with an appearance and danced the night away.

As the guests got dizzier on Holy Water, strange entities kept appearing on the dance floor. Two silk kimono clad characters waltzed around until smoked started coming out of their ears.

They moved to the beach, and their heads exploded mid dance. (one of the heads even landed in the lap of someone in the chill-out zone). Motto: don't let your guests get too relaxed. ;-)

X-life Copenhagen Big Air

X-life skate fest, illustration and poster.

The Big Air fest, skate competition and afterparty was arranged by Åsk Wäppling, Miklas Njor, Esben Pedersen. Sponsored by Nokia and Red Bull among others.

De Fem Trin - five steps to commercial production (brochure / DM)

DRRB, Dansk Annoncørforening and Producentforeningen wanted to send ot a useful item to all their members and clients. This brochure shows all the steps from conceiving a commercial idea, to creating it - and what each party does at each step. The first row is what the advertiser does, the second row is what the ad agency does and the third row is when the production house comes in. This helps clear up confusion about what to do when.

To make it easy to bring along, it's printed on one side so that one can put it in a binder and fold out as needed. Click the image below for a larger view.

the cosmonaut - painting yuri gagarin

The cosmonaut.
I suddenly had a bad urge to fill that frame on the wall that just looks like it desperatly needs a painting in it. What else would a frame be there for?

Armed with a small brush I normally would use for inking comics and a bucket of leftover kitchen paint, I set out to give Yuri Gagarin an altar in my house. First man in space counts for something. I would have done Laika , but I always weep at the thought of how terrified that dog must have been (and her death is gruesome) so I can't really as that would permanently depress me.

Yuri knew what he was getting into - an essential deathtrap - and had the brass balls to do it. You can judge a country by the balls of their space program. Russian cosmonauts fly up in tin cans, land on land, and get a bottle of vodka shoved into their hands by the welcoming comitte. If they survive. In gender fairness even girls get to risk their lives [and die depending on if you belive the real audio files at lostcosmonauts.com] - and this long before the US had women astronauts.

dont try this at home. trained professional in a closed track. ;-) or at least, ask your landlord. They tend to get pissed about this sort of thing. Go figure.

to me it makes prefect sense to start things in the middle. when I was a kid I started all drawings at the bottom. Made me draw things all out of proportion for years. If you start in the middle the distance to both ends is equal and it doesnt feel like you have far to go. Suddenly it was five in the morning and my neck hurt so I had to stop and sleep.

...course you cant see what it is yet. I'm not done yet.

Monday night. My brush broke. Forced break until I get a new brush. Got this far. Terribly annoyed with the brush breaking. Almost used a makeup brush instead. But that would have been silly. Can you see that it's Yuri's teeth and microphone in his space helmet yet? I got myself a new brush. Actually two. And

just so you don't think I haven't used them...

I did get a lot further. See now he has a helmet and headphones and all that. And I have green paint all over my hands and shirt as I kept leaning into the part that hadn't dried yet. [klutz!]

photo: Miklas Njor

The cosmonaut is done.
Sunday 2002-April-14. Really, I should've had a party! It was on April 12, 1961 that Yuri went to space.

AIDS lottery idea - old portfolio

A long time ago I hatched an idea and approached the Body Shop with it. It was about AIDS and designed so that it would reflect the true numbers of each country the bottles of Body Shop Goo would be sold in. It would be 1in 25 if they were destined for Body Shops in the Bay area, for example. Pretty scary odds right?

The effect would be more so, imagine picking up a bottle of whatever and discovering later that the bottle you choose carried that message. The mental jump to "what if I had the wrong date...." isn't that far off, the bottle shakes peoples "it won't happen to me" misconceptions right at the core. It could happen to you. Prevent it! The Body Shop - actually Anitra Roddricks PA at the time - turned the idea down saying they had already done similar ideas with the "speak out against animal testing lip balm". I still don't see the similarities.

The idea still nagged at me as I think it's important to really make people understand that they need to protect themselves, I took it to my boss at Publicis, Amsterdam many years later, the message glued to a Coke can. Exited about the worldwide impact of Coke pulling such a stunt off he got on the horn immediately, and many meetings with Coke Netherlands and Aids organizations (who's number we'd stick on the label for more info) followed as we devised a plan of attack to get the entire Coke corp to march to the same tune. At one meeting they were concerned that now that Netherlands and Belgium had said yes, the next available level - Coke Europe - might say no and then it would all die. We wanted to contact Douglas Daft at Coke directly. Soon afterwords, my boss left Publicis, and so did Coke and eventually so did I, in that order.
Again, the idea died on the foam core. But it still nagged at me to be done.

The Idea as it appeared in 2002 in Ghost magazine (a mag of dead ads).
But it didn't die yet!

On December 1st 2004 with the help of viewropa members we created a banner that would work worldwide. It was announced here - where anybody with a website could use the code on their pages and display the ad. The banner, designed by Taz and the clever code whipped up by Ivan will hopefully appear on as many web pages as possible December 1 2004.

The banner appeared on the following websites (that wrote about it):

Ad freak: On a serious note

Banner Art Collective

PSFK : World Aids Day

Cup of Java: World AIDS Day

Gustav Holmberg: Hur sannolikt är det att man träffar någon med AIDS?

Annica Tigers Blog

Fodosnak campaign (poster / guerrilla)

Most pro photographers in Copenhagen go to Foto/C to get their films developed. Pros who arrive usually stock up on these bags that they use to drop off film in. Suddenly there were two piles of bags, one pile unmarked, the other pile was already "filled in" and read: Client: fodosnak@sinless.org , number or copies [infinity sign], Format - mail, Copy order: Debate.

headline: hænge ud
tagline: en mailingliste siger mere end tuseninde billeder.

"hangout" also playing on "hanging out" , as in, to dry.

headline: negativ
tagline: en mailingliste siger mere end tuseninde billeder.

If you don't know the several meanings of "negativ" [negative], you are not a photographer. ;)

headline: klikke
tagline: en mailingliste siger mere end tuseninde
billeder."click" a photo is taken. "Click" being an elite group. Creme de la creme. All that.

headline: free lance?
tagline: en mailingliste siger mere end tuseninde billeder.

All freelancers occasionally catch themselves working for free. This is a bad thing. Or not? Dicuss.