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."

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.

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" is playing on "hanging out" but could also mean "to dry".
The tagline means: "A mailinglist says more than a thousand pictures."

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.

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? Discuss.