It’s the time of year to come up with what you’re really thankful for. And it doesn’t matter if it’s stalkers, weight loss, cars from the nineties or friendship. In Lunki and Sika’s Universe, it’s all good.

I had already struck off the day in the calendar. It was 16 more days to go.

Every passing day at Mumbai office, I felt more and more helpless. The fear of going into a path not trodden, a road not taken was making me all the more nervous. Whenever I looked back, I remembered Robert Frost who always inspired readers to come out of their comfort zones and tread unknown waters. I was going to do just that.

It was 10:30. I was not hungry, I was not gloomy. But I was missing something. Someone. The feeling was such that I did not want to think any longer. I wanted to have an excuse though I did not need one. I wanted to get some beer. Options were many. And company was plenty. Time was abundant. Phone bills were paid by the company.

In about an hour, Rugan, Ronjon and Santhanagopalan joined me. The Kingfisher Strong bottles in my refrigerator were greeted by chill dudes Fosters, Budweiser and Carlsberg. And they all had a common pal – Gold Flake Kings. The best place to enjoy a drink is under open sky. The open roof of Suryansh Apartments on the 20^th floor.

Rugan was my classmate during MBA. Always ready for 3 things – beer, bike, and bakar. Rugan had looks which any girl would fall for. He was a hunk. 6 ft 2, Muscular build. At times people in disco parties mistake him for the bouncer. Ronjon was a Bong, my co-worker, married, father of 2 kids, in his late thirties. With a amazing beer belly which looked like 2 stuffed pillows under his XXXL shirt. His Hero-Honda Splendor had been with him since he married his wife 7 years ago. Santhanagopalan was a regular software engineer. Amazing with his code, boasting about his zero defect percentages, he wore stylish specs, expensive watches but never cared about his hair. He drove a Santro. They had one common thread – they wanted to quit their current companies. So I gelled with them. I had met them all in a cafeteria in the software park where my company had an office. So our paths crossed. Monday evening was not a great time to party but Vodafone had actually helped in convincing them.

The roof was bare. Seemed like Mumbai was celebrating festival of lights. You could almost see entire Mumbai from this location. Blinking lights, Steady lights, constantly moving lights on the road. We stopped drinking when the lights on the horizon seemed to fade and when Santy, as Santhanagopalan was fondly called, started his narration of how his project manager tortured him on weekends by calling him to office to debug code. Fosters and Kingfisher became just brand names on the empty bottles but were hollow. When Rugan started blowing whistles with the empty bottles, I asked Ron to carry the other two into my apartment. I wanted to enjoy the night.

It was 3 AM in the morning. I lay flat on the mat. 20^th floor did not take me closer to the sky. The stars still seemed far away. They were talking to each other. Then they looked at me. They knew that I could hear and they started whispering. They were talking about me. I tried to listen. Keenly. They were actually giggling, laughing at me. They were laughing at my lack of control on situations, at my frailty as a human who lost so much in a matter of months and still was trying to cope up. And then I talked to them. I told them who I was. I told them, I am the same guy who was run over by a bus on the National Highway and who managed to stand up and fight. I had fought and I was not afraid to stand up. My father helped me. Now I am fighting against his loss. I am fighting against so many things at a time that at times I feel my head will burst. But then I have to. We just cant give up. We are humans after all.

You know what, there are people who study stars. And they say, Stars speak the truth. Stars can reveal everything about someone who is born. Depending on what star was at what place and talking what to the other about the person, fate of that person is decided. You feel so helpless when you know you did everything right and still things go wrong. But I learnt the lesson, things happen for good. And you know why you cant change it? Because that is past. Those damn stars were actually at a place talking .. sometime when you were being born and there is no way you could change their positions in the past. I just wanted to ask the stars – why is all this happening with me. They kept answering me. I just could not hear. May be because of the distance. May be I was sleepy. May be it is not the time yet.

Time! 8 AM. I could not bear the sunlight anymore. Have to get up and get ready for office.

We had guests again during this weekend and we decided to try the *industrial path*: We showed them what the meatpacking district is all about popping into 1)a bar 2)jolene and 3) karriere bar. The next day we had a visit at Carlsberg’s factory.

Meatpacking district is located below Istedgade in Vesterbro district ( really close from the central station Kobenhavn H). Former or still a bit existing place where the meat is packed and maybe a bit processed. Among all those warehouses during the weekends you can discover many clubs/bars with a bit of different style.

We had been to Jolene before ( always a surprise because it is always different music in there!), we were always wondering about Karriere Bar which is just near by. Usually we just get rejected due to their unexplainable rule of 21 or 23 years old barriere- our group is diversified therefore there is always someone with a lower age.

This time we made it and it was great. Beer, music etc.

amazing lamps in karriere bar

Actually, the age difference was quite visible. It looked as if the average was about 35/40 years old. However, the music was really good to have fun to and at about 2 o’clock it became packed.

If you ever get in there watch out for your belongings- despite sway looking suits and shirts sometimes your posession can get missing and the night is not as fun as it could be before.

Sample from last night:

website: http://www.karrierebar.com/en/

 

Et historisk øjeblik. Julebilen på lystavlen under den absolut sidste landskamp i den gamle Idrætspark

Forleden dumpede der et helt forrygende billede ind i min postbakke.

Det er nu et par uger siden – jeg har tygget på det lige siden. Ikke fordi jeg nyder at svælge rundt i gammel succes (det gør jeg naturligvis). Men billedet rummer en masse historier, som er røget ud af min hullede bonghjerne – men heldigvis ikke længere væk, end at de efterhånden nu er dukket op til overfladen igen. Ikke mindst takket være Søren Larsen fra arkivet, der har været så venlig, at finde nogle gamle ting frem fra gemmerne.

Det er naturligvis en julebryg historie – men det er også historien om to historiske begivenheder.

Fodboldnørden kan med det samme se, at billedet det er fra landskampen mod Jugoslavien 14. november 1990 – historisk fordi det var den sidste i den gamle Idrætspark, og fordi modstanderne endnu ikke var gået i opløsning som resten af de gamle østlande. Det gjorde de senere – og skaffede derved Danmark en slutrunde billet til EM, som de senere vandt. Men de er en anden historie.

Hvad billedet ikke umiddelbart afslører, er at den hjemlige medieverden ved samme begivenhed blev præsenteret for et nyt annoncemedie. En Storskærm – eller Jombutronen som den vidst hed – der blev monteret på taget af tribunen.

Dimensionerne husker jeg ikke – men den var stor. Lige som annoncepriserne. Derfor var det naturligvis også en umulig opgave for de stakkels annoncesælgere at komme af med reklamepladsen. Især fordi de traditionen tro var ude så sent, at alle mediebudgetter enten var brugt eller disponeret.

Vi blev naturligvis altid kontaktet på bryggerierne fordi budgetterne var store – men også fordi det var forbundet med prestige at få enten Carlsberg og Tuborg med…

Rent undtagelsesvis var jeg meget interesseret i mediet. Landskampen faldt på J-dagen, så det var oplagt at bruge den populære Snebajer film, som jo dengang kun kunne vises i biografen.

Det var derfor svært at få armene ned af begejstring, da det lykkedes mig at få prisen fra 150.000 kr. ned til noget nær gratis. Lige indtil der dumpede en meddelelse ind på mit skrivebord. Det var besluttet at Tuborg ikke måtte annoncere på dette nye og revolutionerende medie. Det var som bekendt Carlsberg der ’sad’ på fodbolden og Tuborg på musikken.

Jeg forstod ikke en skid af det hele – for det ville være hjernedødt at spille annoncekroner på et andre produkter end Tuborg Julebryg lige netop den dag og uge. Der blev ganske enkelt ikke efterspurgt andet…

Jeg var derfor godt muggen og forbandende Svanholm derned, hvor solen ikke skinner.

Enten var ejeren af mediet hans personlige ven – eller også ville han sikre sig, at det var koncernens prestige produkter fra Carlsberg, der blev annonceret for, mens han sad og hyggede i VIP logen sammen med Kaiser. Plebajerbryg fra Hellerup kunne ikke komme på tale i sådanne situationer…

Men sådan en beslutning skal man ikke præsentere for mig. De virker som en rød klud.

Da jeg nogle uger senere stod på Rådhuspladsen og stirrede på Politikens Lystavle fik jeg ideen. Hvis det kan lade sig gøre her – må det naturligvis også kunne lade sig gøre på resultattavlen i Idrætsparken, som dengang fungerede efter det samme light bulb princip.

Det var naturligvis umuligt at finde frem til de ansvarlige over telefonen. Som så mange gang før, var der kun én ting at gøre. Spaghettiene aka Umberto aka Smukke Arne aka Arne Petersen måtte på banen.

Og som så mange gange før stod han lige akkurat og havde tid til en frokost (klokken var vel 9 om morgenen)… så jeg kunne bare komme ned og sætte ham ind i mine problemer, så kunne vi tage en bid brød efterfølgende.

Idrætsparken… har du prøvet Bent Borch? Spurgte han.

Det havde jeg – og vist også nogle andre af dem jeg kendte. Men ingen af dem vidste hvem der sad og skruede pærer på lystavlen.

Så kom med… lød det fra Spaghettien mens han bed sig i underlæben, hvorefter vi skred ned i bilen, kørte forbi tap syd og fyldte en kasse Sne i bagagerummet inden vi drejede ned af Strandvejen mod City.

Vi skulle nu ikke så langt. Et eller andet sted bag Rigshospitalet stoppede vi foran et lille skur, hvor Københavns vigtigste person havde et lille ydmygt kontor, der lå langt under den standard, der matchede hans magt. Han vidste præcist, hvem vi skulle have fat i og ringede med det samme og meldte vores ankomst – han havde ikke selv tid.

Ti minutter senere sad Spaghettien og jeg i et meget lille operatørrum og talte med to ældre herrer over en frisk Snebajer. Som alle andre var de meget imponerede over at smage disse gyldne dråber hele to uger før release. Så den ene tog den anden, og da kassen var tom, var de ellevilde over at skulle lave den lille snebajer reklame som deres sidste opgave. Efter ombygningen af Idrætsparken, ville der naturligvis være et topmoderne digitalt resultat anlæg og det skulle håndteres af andre… de selv skulle på pension.

Både Spaghettien og jeg selv holdt kæft med vores lille stunt – mest fordi jeg faktisk var lidt usikker på, hvordan det ville se ud. Der var naturligvis flere, som undrede sig over, at jeg pludseligt skulle med til landskamp med de kunder vi traditionen tro havde inviteret med. Jeg skred da også 20 minutter inde i kampen. Det pissede nemlig ned i tove… og Robert på Park viste kampen på TV. Så der sad vi og festede i varme og tørre omgivelser mens spillerne vist fik lammetæv af jugoslaverne og publikum blev gennemblødte.

Overraskelsen var derfor stor, da der pludseligt lød et kæmpe jubelbrøl fra stadion efter halvegsrsultatet og igen da den triste kamp sluttede. Da var det bare endnu højere!

Jeg kigge op på Tv’et over baren og var ved at falde ned af barstolen af overraskelse. Mens rulleteksterne løb ned over skærmen, havde fotograferne stillet ind for at få den allersidste optagelse af lystavlen i det historiske National Stadion. Og hvad rullede ind igen, og igen, og igen… den lille julebryg bil.

Derfor jublen!

Prime time med en helvedes masse seere.

Carlsberg havde sandsynligvis betalt kassen for at vise en reklame for Sort Guld… (jeg havde sgu’ lidt ondt af Jan Erik – eller var det Niels Boe?) – jeg fik en underlig bon på 10.000 kr. fra Spaghettien (det kan jeg jo godt sige nu, da han ikke er mere, Arme RIP). Der udover spiste vi en frokost på Skt. Peder (der tog en hel dag) og så var der naturligvis den kasse øl vi drak i kontrolrummeT.

THAT’S IT!

CODA
Var det kommet frem det med bonen, havde jeg sandsynlig ikke fået andet end skideballer over at ødsle med bryggeriets penge på den måde.

Her fra Nepal river man sig af og til i håret over håbløse beslutninger. Men i virkeligheden Danmark meget godt med – beslutningen om at beordre Tuborg fra mediet, var lige så hjernedød og middelalderagtig som mange af de ting, der foregår i dette underlige primitive land jeg befinder mig i.

Så tak Svanholm – for at ruste mig til min dagligdag i dag -:}

Andre historier om Snebajeren: J-Dagens tilblivelse

Oto okładka singla wydanego w 2005 roku , promującego płytę “Carlsberg”, pt.: “Impra w rytmach disco”.

Client – Carlsberg

Agency – n/a

Link –

Product – still Carlsberg

Any insight – None

The advert – As I couldnt find any agency name attached to this viral, I am assuming that this was created by some Carlsberg enthusiasts. This reflects even better on the brand, as they didnt have to put any effort into this and that their customers are so “in love” with their favour beer brand, that they will spend time and money to create such a video.

This advert can only be understood if you have seen this video previously:

Therefore the creators are limiting their audience a bit to the people who have seen the video above, but thats what virals and memes are all about – the internet craze!!!

Lennard

Simba - attractive, apparently

…this is how they’d do it (and if I can manage it, so can you):

Whip 1 pint Double Cream (they probably wouldn’t do this by hand, it took me ~45 mins)

A little at a time, mix in a tin (400g) of condensed milk (they’d probably use the tin opener the right way up too)

Add 5 beaten up Crunchie bars (pretty hard to do this wrong, but pretty easy to make a mess, so in case there are any complete novices thinking of trying this I’d suggest putting the crunchies in a sealed bag before bashing them to bits with a rolling pin)

Put into a suitable container and freeze

Simples.

Wondering why there’s a picture of Simba off of The Lion King? I made the ice cream for Pudding & Film Night, and on Friday that’s what we watched.

In episodul doi al reportajului din Dublin, am descoperit urmele remizelor Irlandei cu Italia pe afise inramate pe ziduri de toalete, incercand sa descifrez gesticulatiile portretului robot al jucatorului peninsular, si anticipand duelurile cu Franta, inaintea carora selectionerul Raymond Domenech a stiut exact ce vrea sa spuna cand s-a referit la “verzi” drept “Angleterre bis”.

(Episodul I il gasiti acum cateva postari, cu o saptamana inainte: <Capitan si spectatori impuscati in 1916 pe “Croker”, gazda barajului Irlanda – Franta>)

In zona central vestica a Dublinului, portile fabricii Guinness, avand drept simbol harpa, se deschid puhoiului de turisti descinsi la muzeul pe 6 etaje, cu un restaurant panoramic Gravity pe vechea cladire

Cateva simboluri sunt sacre pentru irlandezi. Saint Patrick, patronul lor spiritual. Verdele trifoi. Harpa. Jameson, whiskey cu e, si Guinness, berea neagra. Si nu in ultimul rand hurlingul si Gaelic football, pastorite de Gaelic Athletic Association.

Statuia lui James Joyce, autor al lui Ulysses ori Dublinezi, este la un sfert de ora de mers pe jos de arena Croke Park, unde Irlanda va primi sambata pe Franta

Dar oricat de popular a ramas traditionalul joc cu crosa in randul maselor, cand vine vorba sa-si improspateze recunoasterea sportiva internationala Republica Irlanda apeleaza mai ales la fotbal. Iar explozia demografica generata de acel succes la penaltyuri cu Daniel Timofte ghicit de Pat Bonner, in chiar prima aparitie a Insulei de Smarald pe scena mondiala, a fost inceputul veritabilei povesti de dragoste a “verzilor” cu balonul rotund. Imbratisat de pustani de la Sligo pana la Cork si din Limerick la Dublin. Nu doar capitala e nebuna dupa fotbal.

Prin centru, agentii de turism au expuse in vitrina nu numai tipice descinderi in Goa, ci si pachete de o noapte cazare, transbordare cu feribotul si bilete de meci la – se putea oare altfel!? – Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea si Arsenal. Excursii fotbalistice de pe-o insula pe alta, la fisticul din Premier League. 20 martie, Man Utd – Liverpool, 499 euro.

Oferte turistice cu nemiluita pentru fani irlandezi dornici de jocuri ale fruntaselor din Premier League...

Pe colt, in pub, n-ai unde sa arunci un ac si doar numele sponsorilor delimiteaza taberele rosii ale razboiului de peste Marea Irlandei. Carlsberg respectiv AIG. E pasiune incrancenata, e larma. Iar Torres si Ngog fac sa curga berea. Nu daneza ci neagra, irlandeza. Putin conta ca in cele doua garnituri figura un unic “verde”, John O’Shea, numarul 22 la United.

Indemnul imensei fabrici de bere de la St. James’ Gate e “sa ridici paharul pentru Arthur”. Arthur Guinness, pionierul acestui brand mondial. In pub, rosiii cu Liverpool au inaltat un pint iar pe pult am ochit un ziar de sport deschis la pagina cu rezultate, completata cu o consistenta rubrica mentionand evolutia pana si a celui mai nestiut fotbalist irlandez pentru cel mai obscur club englez. Si-atunci de ce pachete turistice doar la cele patru “mari”!?

Explicatia am gasit-o la toaleta. Pentru ca “verzilor” le place sa se bata de la egal la egal doar cu cei mai tari. Ardeau Anglia la primul lor turneu final, Euro ’88, cu golul lui Ray Houghton din primul sfert de ora, acelasi mijlocas al lui Liverpool repetand scenariul si contra Italiei, la New York, in ’94, peste ani si tinand in sah Germania, pe taram asiatic. Doar ca generatiile ’90 si 2002 n-au mai avut urmas…

Croke Park, cu tribuna I Michael Hogan si peluza "Dealul 16", vazute din gura tunelului de acces Muhammad Ali, pe unde vor iesi O'Shea si Henry...

La care Football Association of Ireland a incercat marea cu degetul, investindu-l pe regretatul Sir Bobby Robson drept tutore al noului selectioner, recordmanul de aparitii in “verde” Steve Staunton. N-a mers dar federalii au insistat sa apeleze la experienta.

Cand catedrala St. Patrick’s se darapana peste simbolul religios al celtilor, sambure al catolicismului lor, atunci baronetul parlamentar Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness a intins o mana de ajutor dintre butoaie de bere, lacasul sfant reconsolidandu-se. In fotbalul modern, FAI a cautat salvarea peste mari si tari, in persoana unui nins Giovanni Trapattoni.

La intrarea in Catedrala St. Patrick, cel mai important lacas sfant al catolicilor irlandezi, e statuia restauratorului Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, membru al familiei nobiliare ce a dat lumii celebra marca de bere

Care uns italian a lecturat aceeasi rubrica reunind toti potentialii selectionabili si a cotrobait dupa sange proaspat prin toate ungherele fotbalului insular. Rasplata? Un 1-1 acasa la campioana mondiala. La Bari. Grupa inca se juca…

Atat curaj au prins insularii lui Trap, incat pisoarele barurilor au afisat campania de publicitate la www.soccerrepublic.ie sub titlul “Italian Gestures Explained”. O figurina squadra azzurra, brunet cu barbison, gesticuland expresiv… Arbitre, esti plecat de-acasa!? Ori… Ce rau am facut? O, Doamne! Dar nu se poate!!! Chiar nu vezi!? Degetul la tampla. Mainile rasfirate. Sau in semnul rugaciunii. Ori degetele stranse manunchi. Degetul la ochi… Posturi rastalmacite dedesubt in cel mai pur umor negru irlandez. Asadar “verzii” erau suficient de increzatori pentru a-i lua in balon pe campionii lumii.

O pagina web de fotbal si-a facut reclama pe timpul preliminariilor cu afise in toalete ale puburilor luand la misto gesticulatia tipica fotbalistilor latini. In colimator au fost italienii, cu care Irlanda lui... Trap a facut 1-1 si 2-2

Iar in retur, pe Croke Park din Dublin, un sfant modern, Sean St. Ledger, trecut de la ilustra Preston la sclipitoarea Middlesbrough, facea 2-1 in minutul 87. Gilardino a frant imediat visul, amutind “Croker”, dar recrutii lui Trap tot s-au calificat la baraj.

Dupa campioana Italia, vicecampioana Franta. O aliata geopolitica de secole. Dar Irlanda vrea acum sa rescrie istoria, cu destinatia Africa de Sud. Si “verzii” sunt si mai intaratati, de Domenech, pe care l-a scapat ca “L’Irlande, c’est l’Angleterre bis”. Cu totii au inteles ca selectionerul francez s-ar fi referit la irlandezi ca la niste rude sarace ale Angliei. Pana ce a venit un filolog sa limpezeasca apele, clarificand ca, in nonsalanta sa, Raymond a folosit bis cu gandul la “echivalent”. Adica o alta trupa de Premier League, Irlanda, aidoma Angliei…

Oare chiar la acest bis s-a referit Domenech? Ei bine, in generatiile trecute, “verzii” aliniau alde Irwin si Keane, de la Man United, sau Staunton, Babb si Houghton, de la Liverpool. Acum, Trap are nu neaparat un titular la United, O’Shea. Atat din “careul celor mari”. Atunci, pe Giants din NY, Italia era batuta de Irlanda capitanului Townsend, abia plecat de la Chelsea la Villa. Iar Lung era eliminat de O’Leary, fundasul lui Arsenal. 

Acum? In lot, trei si cate doi de la recent promovatele Hull, Stoke si Wolves, alti doi de la Coventry si Reading, plus baieti de la Scunthorpe, Preston ori Boro. Iar perechea lui Hibernian vine din Scotia. Angleterre? E drept, Kevin Kilbane, fie si de la codasa Hull, ar putea ajunge la doar o selectie distanta de recordmanul Staunton, ca de altfel si portarul Given. 101. Doar cei doi, laolalta cu Robbie Keane si Damien Duff, sunt liantul cu precedenta generatie de mondial. Dar tocmai bisul cu gandul mai degraba la “ruda saraca” decat la “echivalent” s-ar putea sa devina regretul francezului. Italianul ii pregateste ceva demn de postat pe faianta toaletei. Thierry implorand sfintii.

Va curge oare Guinnessul sambata seara la Dublin? Sau daca nu, dupa returul parizian de miercuri 18 noiembrie? Sticlele din diverse... generatii te intampina la intrarea in muzeul fabricii de bere din St. James' Gate

eller

Världens sämsta öl? #3

Danne bjöd in till ölprovning i lördags. Massor av godsaker stod på menyn, till exempel Moylans Ryan OSullivans Imperial Stout och Mikkeller Green Gold. Som sista öl ville dock Danne bjuda på en överraskning, en specialare, en öl av en stil jag ännu inte rejtat. Vilket ju alltid är intressant, eller?

Det visade sig vara Kopparbergs Special Brew Super X-Strong 10.0% som räknas till den allmänt bespottade stilen malt liquor. Förväntningarna var väl inte direkt jättehöga när denna öl hälldes upp och började smuttas på.

Doften kan vara den värsta någonsin. Oerhört kemisk. Massor av diskmedel.

Smaken är inte mycket bättre den. Sötsliskig läsk som hällts upp i ett glas där rester av billig whiskey legat över natten, smakar den.

Men är det världens sämsta öl? Nej, jag tycker inte det. För även om det här var rent vidrigt och patetiskt dåligt på många sätt, kan jag (som den gottegris jag är) inte helt stå emot detta öls sötma. Det är också sötman som gör att jag rankar den här högre än stilkollegan Arboga 10,2%.

Usel, ja, men den överträffade förväntningarna och har nu i det närmaste nått kultstatus i kompisgänget (malt liquor-provning, någon?).

(Malt Liquor borde rent logiskt vara en riktigt bra ölstil för den som vill dränka sina sorger. Varje klunk innehåller ju rejäla mängder av de klassiska ångestbedövarna socker och alkohol.)

Tidigare inlägg i serien “Världens sämsta öl?”

1. Laziza Non Alcoholic

2. Budweiser 3,5%

Danish brewer Carlsberg A/S posted Wednesday a 25 percent hike in third-quarter profit, citing successful cost-cutting strategies and strong returns in Eastern European and Asian markets.

The beer producer said net profit rose to 1.5 billion kroner ($297 million) in the July through September period from 1.2 billion kroner in 2008.

Revenue, meanwhile, dipped to 16.4 billion kroner ($3.2 billion) from 18.4 billion kroner year-on-year.

The group said that gains from new product lines were particularly strong in the Ukraine and Russia, though those gains did not offset stagnant sales in other European markets.

Carlsberg’s chief executive, Jorgen Buhl Rasmussen, said he was “pleased” with the result, saying “efficiency improvements” had offset the effects of “challenging markets.”

The company will continue to focus on “growing volume and value market share, improving efficiencies and reducing debt” in “an equally challenging 2010,” he said.

Carlsberg shares closed down 5.3 percent, at 341.3 kroner ($67.70), on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange.

Coole Website von Carlsberg.

Danish brewer Carlsberg cuts its full-year sales forecast after a 10% sales decline in the Russian market…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: shopping web sites. The blog is also related to: london shopping.

Pedro Vilas-Boas è un art director portoghese, crea delle immagini davvero interessanti piene di elettricità che rimandano ad un immaginario un pò ‘80es. Nella sua carriera ha collaborato con marchi come Nokia e Carlsberg, con artisti e progetti web.

Nel suo sito personale sono presenti tutti i lavori, un potfolio davvero notevole.

Ved rådhuspladsen finder du denne mellemstore pub. En hyggelig og relativ autentisk replica af den engelske/skotske tradition.  Du kommer ind og ser den lange majestætiske bar i mahogni. Den er rigtig flot, og har mange ølhaner. Men ikke så mange øl som man skulle ønske. Det er monopoløl, men med det udvidede udvalg.

Man kan se på væggene hvorfor det bliver kaldt den skotske pub, da det er skotske rude over alt. Modsat baren har man nogle af de mest intime og flotteste båse i Danmark. Over disse er det ”udstoppede” dyr som elg og bison. Lidt morsomt kitschet er det at de bliver ”levende” en gang i blandt. Nej du er ikke fuld når dette sker.  Der er Chesterfield sektion når man kommer ind til venstre. Loftet er næsten traditionelt engelsk.

Stedet er meget populært pga af den centrale placering. Der er mange turister fra udlandet, både fra fjerne strøg og Jylland.  Men stemningen er positiv og god. Måske pga af den gode musikken, både den over højtalerne og den som troubadouren giver.  Man kan også se de store fodboldkampe her.

For 4-5 år siden var ølpriserne stive her. Du kan finde mange steder som er billigere, men priserne har stået stille i forhold til mange andre pladser i København

Lidt vanskelig at gi karakterer. De kommer lidt an på om du kan lide turister eller ikke, men jeg falder for den venlige atmosfære.

Dagens Beer Quote:
“May the roof above us never fall in, and may we friends gathered below never fall out.”
-Old Irish Blessing

HTC: You Are Different from You – YAY

Two things have recently become unbearable: ads reminding us of the economic recession and ads overemphasizing individualism. Yes, we enjoy being individuals. After all, that’s what it means to be an American. But while advertising’s emphasis on the individual is relevant today, we don’t need Captain Obvious as our source of repetition.

HTC does a good job of emphasizing “you,” but does so in a new way. Traditionally, ads have said something along the lines of “which means more ____ for YOU!” or “giving YOU more time for _____.” What HTC does it illustrate these things in action. Instead of saying (at 0:25) “leaving you worry-free,” for example, this ad shows the woman worrying. This humanizes the voiceover, and shows just the alternative instead of the alternative and the solution. In other words, instead of weighing the bad (worrying) and the good (being worry-free) side by side, this commercial implies the good by using the bad. Captain Obvious is nowhere to be found.

Aside from all that, the music and voiceover are bouncy. The commercial moves quickly but isn’t forced. And most of all, the punch line at the end is flawless. The entire spot leads into the tagline and then the company is introduced creatively with “…and we, are HTC.”

Carlsberg: Bathtub – NAY

Aside from the awkwardness of this print ad, creating something like this is risky because it can easily offend women. It is somewhat similar to Snicker’s 2007 Superbowl ad where the offensiveness isn’t completely there, but it’s to the point where it shouldn’t have made it past the creative director.

This Carlsberg ad could have gone in so many directions. The concept itself has legs. In fact, I briefly remade it (see below) with the same strategy in mind. Excuse the visuals.

Så var J-Dagen kommet, og planen var at man skulle prøve at hitte så mange steder som muligt hvor Tuborg kom, for så at blogge om stemning og erfaringer. God plan!  Så var det bare den lille detalje at vi ville forbi Bob’s for at få en fyraftensbajer.  Der stod Christina og Liss i sit flotteste J-dag mundur og ønsket os velkomne.

Så blev vi enige om at tage en fyraftensbajer til.  Værtskabet er da så venligt og informerer os om at vi er hjertelig velkomne til at tage del i deres middagsselskab. Her kan man tilbyde alt det gode fra en Dansk julefrokost som går til Tuborg Julebryg. Det smagte fantastisk godt! Mad, snaps og øl.  Stemningen øger efter som maden og fluiden bliver konsumeret.

Kl. 20.59 bliver det som traditionen tilsiger, talt ned til at sneen falder, og stemningen fortsætter med at stige.  Ved halv ti tiden åbner dørene sig og nissemændene fra Tuborg vælter ind af døren, og skaber den gode stemning. Julebrygsangen bliver sunget fra snepigerne på baren. Stemningen stiger videre. 5-0 til Carlsberg for fantastisk markedsføring.

Tak til Bob’s hytte for hyggelig samvær, god mad og drikke!

Carlsberg….one of the best words ever invented by man.  Living in Copenhagen gives you a certain amount of pride of their most famous contribution to world culture.  In fact us Brits have been raised on adverts such as “If Carlsberg did Holidays/Football/Flats/Girlfriends etc” or The Danes hate to see it leave which are completely alien to the Danes who have not got a clue when I start going on about “If Carlsberg did football blogs…..”

I’d been over here in CPH for a few months without being able to venture down to Valby to the Brewery, or heaven as its known, and then two opportunities come along in one week.  Firstly as part of a Management awayday we got a “behind the scenes, access all areas” tour down into areas that are never seen by the general public, and then a week later I took the Fuller clan on a public tour which ends with a session in the bar sampling the likes of Jacobsen Dark Lager – classic stuff.  So how about a few facts I hear you ask…Well OK then – here are ten of the best…

1. The Swastika – An Indian peace symbol.  Long before the rise of the Nazi party in post First World War Germany the Swastika was known as a symbol of peace in many Indian cultures.  Carlsberg adopted the symbol during the 19th century and had it carved into their Elephant Gates at the turn of the century.  During the 1930’s they actually started legal proceedings against the Nazi party to stop them essentially infringing their copyright.  Guess who won???

2. Little Mermaid – Last year when the process of clearing some of the old storage rooms started in Old Carlsberg they came across a room that had been sealed for over 50 years.  In the back of this room they came across a sheet, which hid one of the original five Little Mermaid sculptures which nobody had a clue why it was stored down underground.  The good news is that with the “original” Mermaid due to go on loan to the Chinese next year, Copenhagen needs to bring in a sub and Carlsberg have started negotiations to “loan” the city this one.

3. Special Brew – In 1950 the then master brewer Thomas Marfleet brewed a new beer to commemorate the visit to Copenhagen of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill.  Churchill loved it and Carlsberg produced two crates especially for Winnie.  It then went on sale under the name “Easter Brew” before becoming Special Brew in 1951.

4. Carlsberg – The brewery was founded by Jacob Christian Jacobsen in 1844 on the outskirts of the city in a suburb called Valby.  It was named after his son, Carl.  He was so grateful to his Dad that he soon founded his own brewery thinking that “he knew best” called the Valby Brewery, before changing the name to Ny Carlsberg and moving next door to his Dad’s brewery.

5. Cathedral Brewhouse – The original “brewhouse” in Ny Carlsberg only stopped producing beer just over a year ago.  It is a magnificent four story galleried building and the copper “kettles” still dominate the room.  The next owners of the building are still not known.  A TV station, internet company and another brewery have bid for it but as it is listed no fittings can be removed and so it is becoming quite problematic.

6. Brands – Carlsberg is the 4th largest brewer in the world based on output but the biggest in terms of brand ownership.  Through years of acquisitions it today owns more than 45 brands including such well known ones as Kronenbourg, Holstein, Tuborg and Tetley plus the not so well known Law in Serbia, Kuche Kuche in Malawi and Koff in Finland.

7. Carlsberg Mansion – In the grounds of the Brewery sits the Carlsberg Mansion.  The red brick mansion is home to a number of famous Scientists who have won the Danish equivalent of the Nobel prize.  All winners of this prestigious prize are invited to live at the Mansion, rent free for the rest of their lives AND THEY GET FREE BEER! There are currently three such award winners living a live of permanent drunkenness.  Possibly the best known resident is Niels Bohr the Nobel Scientist who worked on the Manhatten Project.

8. 18,242 unopened bottles – Carlsberg own the largest collection of unopened beer bottles in the world.  Some years ago they were approached by an individual who had over 10,000 DIFFERENT bottles in his possession but his wife wanted to use his beer room as a nursery (priorities!) and so they donated his collection to the brewery.  The collection includes a bottle from every brewery in the world as well as some special limited edition ones such as the Red labelled Carlsberg (see left) produced to commemorate the Danes reaching the 1986 World Cup finals (the bottle was a flop unlike the football team), a tetra-pack carton of beer, the original Winston Churchill produced Special Brew and the last ever bottle (end one on the right) produced at the brewery in December 2008.  Prior to this Carlsberg produced over 4 million bottles A DAY!  They still produce the very limited edition Jacobsen beer which sells for over 2000 Danish Kroner a bottle (the 2008 edition sells for 2008DKR, this years will be 2009DKR etc) – probably the most expensive beer in the world

9. Workers rights – At its peak whilst producing 4million bottles per day, the brewery employed over 5,000 people on the site in Valby.  Part of their working rights was the right to drink 6 beers per day free of charge.  They could drink these at any time, but amazingly could only have 2 cigarettes a day!  They could also purchase cheap beer in the staff pub.  On pay day the workers wives used to arrive at lunchtime to collect their wages to stop them pissing it all away!  Technically this perk has never been rescinded although few workers today partake in this practice.  Also quite surprising for such a huge operation was the fact that people only ever worked from 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday – no weekends or long nights as the Jacobsen family prided itself on offering all of its workers a healthy private live.

10. Carlsberg and Football – “Carlsberg don’t sponsor football teams, but if they did they would probably be the best teams in the world”….Well actually they do sponsor four football teams at the moment and none of them are world beaters!  They have been the main sponsors of FCK (FC Copenhagen – see here for more on their history) for years but apart from one decent season in the Champions League a few years ago they have failed to make an impression on the European stage.  OB from Odense are the other domestic club they sponsor.  OB are the new domestic force and could well take over the mantle from FCK.  Then you have two clubs in England.  No prizes for getting Liverpool as the first one, although that long term deal (18 years) is coming to an end in May 2010 when the Anfield club reluctantly accept over £20m per season from Standard Chartered.  But could you easily get the 4th club?  Well they actually played Liverpool at Anfield in January 2008?  Still no idea? Well it is actually Havant & Waterlooville!  They played Liverpool in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup, losing 5-2.  Of course you knew (liar).

So next time you order a pint of Carlsberg, pause before you down it and think about all of the toil that went into producing that pint….or simply down it and order another one!

there will be minimal to no promotion of carlsberg until their deal with liverpool ends – not from me atleast, others are welcome to add reviews.

there will be shameless budweiser worship – for 2 obvious reasons:

1. only the most awesome beer ever brewed – atleast in the plain simple category
2. they sponsor manchester united

So we’re starting off the new series with a fairly neutral beer. This is the beer with the famous slogan:

“Probably the best lager in the world”

Lets begin:

Cost:

This beer is one of the standard drinks available in any bar in Ireland. As such it has the same price as most other beers. In the pub you can get a pint (500ml approx) for between €4.50 and €6. Now this is in pubs, in off licenses you can get 6 500ml cans (aka tallboys if you’re from America) for between €10 and €12 depending on what offer is on at the time or where you go. All in all the cost for this beer isn’t that surprising at all, it costs the same amount as the majority of the mainstream beers.

Score for Cost: 3 out of 5

It doesn’t cost too much, but it ain’t cheap either, so this beer gets a nice average mark.

Taste:

Now, I’m not sure if years of smoking has ruined my taste-buds, but this honestly didn’t taste too amazing. I will admit, it didn’t taste horrible either, it was a nice middle of the road taste. This meant that I could drink it without feeling the need to scrunch my face up into a ball whenever I take a sip (which has happened on occasion depending on how cheap the beer is). To be honest, the more and more I drank it, the more and more I lost my sense of taste. Is that an effect of the alcohol, or does it genuinely lack any distinguishing taste?

Score for taste 2 out of 5

Why? It’s not un-drinkable, but at the same time it doesn’t present me with a situation where I want to shout out,

“GET ME ANOTHER CARLSBERG! THIS IS AMAZING!”.

Effect:

Here’s the beautiful thing, a friend of mine managed to source a proper police-grade breathiliser. So from now on effect will be judged on how many of a particular product it takes before I’m legally over the limit. It’s a pretty simple system. It’s currently set to measure with a limit of the currently blood alcohol level of 80 mg of alcohol to 100 ml of blood (apparently). That being said, I expected that after 2 beers I’d be over the limit. But now, we had all green lights going. 4 beers went down the hatch and I was still just under the limit. By this point in time, I was tipsy, I couldn’t understand it, why wasn’t I legally drunk? I’ll tell you, time was the factor. Each pint would take me on average between 30 and 40 minutes to drink fully. This meant that I wasn’t so much getting drunk as just having a few beers. This basically means that the only way you’re going to get drunk on Carlsberg is if you’re knocking them back within 5 minutes and refilling as necessary.  Which leads on to side-effects.

Score for Effect: 3 out of 5

Unless you were pouring these down you’re throat like there was a forest fire in your stomach and only beer could extinguish it, then this product isn’t worth wasting your time on. Especially if your goal is to remain as far from sobriety as possible.

Side-effect:

Oh now here’s the kicker. While you look manly and butch drinking beer all night, it comes with a hefty cost. In fact, several. The first is the biggest inconvenience of all. After 1 pint you need to pee. So you go and come back, and before you’re halfway through the next one you’re back in the toilet.  This doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone at all, so I won’t dwell on it. The second side-effect was that it made me irratible, I got tired and sluggish and started acting like a kid just short of a tantrum. This is bad, really bad, because it explains why so many lads start fights on a night out. It’s because what they’re drinking has literally made them be 4 years old again, and when you’re four, you’ll fight with anyone just for fun. The third main side-effect was a sudden onset of cravings for anything made using copius amounts of grease. I went to the local chipshop and ordered all kinds of greasey crap. I ate it like it was my first meal in 20 years and was constantly plagued with the thought that the next morning my stomach was going to suffer. Why do drunk people flock to places of extreme greasiness after a night out? Why does alcohol make us do the exactly what’s required to make a hangover worse?

Score for Side-effect: 1 out of 5

Why 1? Never in my entire drinking days have I understood why I had such a horrible hangover if I drank beer all night. Then last night I had an epiphany, beer makes you want to have a horrible hangover. Beer makes you want to turn your stomach to ribbons, to get a black eye and to wake up face down on the kitchen floor with no trousers on. Carlsberg provided possibly my worst hangover to date.

The Look:

The original intention of this section of the entry was to highlight how drinking a particular product affects your image. Afterall, even those who claim to not judge on first impressions, subconsciously do. The thing I’ve noticed is that beer doesn’t get you noticed until you’ve had too many and start acting the idiot. So I’m not going to be providing a score rating for this section. Now that being said, there are certain advantages to drinking beer, especially in Ireland. Why? Well everything gets served in the same kind of glass. This means that an awful lot of people will ask about what you’re drinking, thus starting off a conversation. Either way, this really didn’t do much to set off people’s radar at all. That being said, there are nights when you just want to go out and have a drink and not get bothered by a load of idiots going,

“What are you doing drinking that?”.

Overall:

It wasn’t the worst tasting drink that I’ve had the pleasure of consuming. I will say that the fact that you’re spending the majority of your time in transit between your seats and the toilet, you get plenty of exercise and that has to be chalked up as a good thing! That being said, there are a number of things you need to remember if you’re going to go on a night of beer. Always try to avoid getting a take-away anything after a night of beer. Whatever it is about beer, for some reason you just want to get battered lard deepfried and served with a side of grease. I don’t see the logic, it doesn’t work, you wind up feeling worse the next day. Overall, I would highly recommend it for those of you who want a quiet night, but for those of you planning on getting slightly polluted, I’d recommend going towards something that won’t make you pee every 30 seconds.

Score for Carlsberg: 2 out of 5

I’m sorry Carlsberg, you may think you’re probably the best lager in the world, but you didn’t set off any alarm bells with me.

Tune in next time for an Anti-sobriety review for: Heineken

Enjoy!

Felix

PS. As always, please read the disclaimer if you’re new to the blog. Leave a comment, and flick through the previous posts to see if there’s something you like. Please be sure to respect your local laws surrounding the consumption of alcohol (legal ages and whatnot), and most importantly, even if you are of age, try to be a little bit responsible (or at least pretend to be responsible)….

Según Wikipedia, una erupción de Coca Light y de Mentos (alias Mentos erupción o Coca geiser) es una reacción of Coca Light con los caramelos Mentos. En 2005, el fenómeno fue popularizado en la red y la siguiente vídeo ha sido visto más de 10 millones de veces:

Podemos hablar de un real buzz que ha afectado las dos marcas principalmente positivamente. Excepto la falsa rumor de la muerte de un niño que había comido Mentos con Coca-Cola, los efectos fueron positivos y las dos marcas sacaron provecho de estos.

Recientemente, Carlsberg, una compañía cervecera danesa, utilicé este buzz para hacer su propia publicidad basada en la misma idea. Esta publicidad fue tan popular que la vídeo ya ha sido visto casi 2 millones de veces.

Llegamos a un nuevo nivel con esta publicidad: Carlsberg creaba un buzz de un buzz…

According to Wikipedia, a Diet Coke and Mentos eruption (a.k.a. Mentos eruption or Coke geyser) is a reaction of Diet Coke with Mentos mints. In 2005, the phenomenon was popularized in internet and the following video has been seen more than 20 million times:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKoB0MHVBvM

We can talk of a real buzz that has affected the two brands mainly positively. Except the false rumor of the death of a child that had been eating Mentos with Diet Coke, the effects were positive and the two brands benefited of those.

Recently, Carlsberg, a Danish brewing company, used this very buzz to create its own advertisement based on the same idea. This commercial has been so popular that the video has been seen almost 2 million times already.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAcc8CPhlO4

We got to a whole new level with this commercial: Carlsberg created a buzz of a buzz…

Wonderful experience!

What so wonderful? First of all, i meet lot of ppl from different background and also different culture. Is exactly like a international conference last night. Dun drag too far, just chris’s house mate we have friend from sri lanka, turkey, nepal and also malaysia of course. And then we have friend from UK, france, protugal, turkey, sri lanka, and nepal too. Some blacky not sure where they come from, as they dun really mix with us last night.

(errr… 104 is chris house)

As usual in UK i think, we break the ice by drinking. And yes, we play drinking game which name “king”, this is a fun drinking game though, i will bring it back to malaysia and play with u ppl!! So please remind me on that in case i forgot or what . At first only few of us playing the game, but as we start to make lot of noise, ppl start joining us as it was great to have more ppl to play the game. So after 1 round, most ppl already drink some bottle of beer, and every body start to have topic to discuss. Cool huh? Alcohol really can make a lot of thing happen.

Get to know two france guys who name leo and johen. They was fun. Sharing with them about the wine thing and they tell us there are wine engineering back in france who work is to judge what price should that barrel of wine can be sell! And the turkey girl become very energetic after few beer. hahahah.. At first we though she would not drink, and we are so wrong.. Taking the vodka like water! hahahah

But that is a very bad side of that party which was there wasn’t have any food prepare. Lucky i din go there empty stomach, took 2 slice of bread b4 i get there. But still very hungry. Not sure what happen, but they suppose have order delivery of pizza that night. Nah.. just forget about that. We leave the house around 1 as i start to feel strange thing happen. you know, too many alcohol will make bad thing happen, so i just feel that is time to move.

While we reach our hostel, we were so hungry. Order domino as dinner, then play card.. then finally i get on bed after 3am i think! that is just too crazy!

Ingen bryr sig men jag vill feta. Här är min helg i namn, ting och titlar.
Fredag: Fest på surfbutiken 654 med gratis Carlsberg och Au de cap. Jag har aldrig surfat, men smälte in som den sociala kameleont jag är. Precis som Petter. Kanske också på grund av min solblekta lugg och flagnande bränna från Kalifornien. Festen sponsrad av Wasa. Sällskapet bestod av kulturvetaren/bokförläggaren Joakim, även kallad Runkle efter karaktären i Californication, och studerande surfaren Christoffer som gärna vill vara Hank Moody (David Duchovny) i nämnda serie men ligger för lite.
Efter det – Ljunggrens med ledarskribenten Johannes och basisten Jocke från The Scrags som tillskott.
Lördag: Fyra små rätter från Wang och fyra långa filmer hos Gustav. Gratis skruvad tistelöl från Skottland via Olle och en missad spelning med The Fast Forwards och Rusiak. Cocktail med Tom Cruise var för bra. Övriga filmer var Tjenare Kungen, Gran Torino med Clint Eastwood och Pride & Glory med Edward Norton och Colin Farrell.
Nu: Jobb och fortsatt beundran för Alexander Skarsgård som tog emot pris som bästa skurk för sin insats som Eric Northman i Six feet under-skaparen Allan Balls HBO-serie True Blood på Scream Awards.