The Friss Story

Testing the packaging versions showed us that there are some customary elements worth holding onto to aid the identifiability of the radler segment (which made our job easier and more difficult at the same time), and we also had to take into consideration the recognisability of the brand.

Road to the final version

When designing the different versions, we kept in mind the goals defined during the brand strategy development process: appealing to the younger target group with a sleeker, modern visual world that suggests quality, and, very importantly, strongly differentiating the alcoholic and the non-alcoholic products (which gained legal significance later when developing the TVC). 

It was a real challenge to find a direction in this segment that is gender-neutral and exciting, but is still in keeping with the characteristic, fairly set graphic style of radlers (exploding fruits, icy water, etc.) It would also have been inadvisable to completely let go of the existing elements of the packaging (such as the Friss logo using a hand-written font). 

Among the first-round versions, there were some quite daring ones, radically distinct from the competitors’ packagings, some others that tried to break free of the conventional elements of the segment, and of course, the perfect happy medium (4 – this one ended up being the winner, as this was the direction that accomplished most of the goals we set, and it also performed the best in testing). 

The next step was to fine-tune the selected packaging. Here our most important guideline was to ensure the identifiability of the brand and the segment, and to strongly differentiate the alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions. We created some designs with stylized illustrations of fruits, but in the end we agreed on a more photorealistic depiction with the client.

The first script of the TVC development (created together with the director) was based on a live-action story, which at a certain point would have switched to scenes supplemented with colourful, drawn animations. 

And just when this script was completed and approved, the coronavirus struck. At that time, during the spring lockdown, pulling off a live-action, multi-location shoot was out of the question, so we had to rethink our possibilities. One of the options that presented itself was to move our film over into the world of animation in full. Needless to say, this is a typical love project for an art director, not to mention that it’s rare to come across a visually exciting, fully animated ad spot in Hungary.   

Moreover, the platform envisioned for the Friss portfolio was a great fit for a colourful, dynamic story taking place in a drawn world, so gradually our client also started to warm up to the idea. So much so, that not long after we were already picking between several beautiful treatments, submitted by various foreign and Hungarian animation studios. 

Here are a few examples of the different visual routes we explored:

Credits: Airplan Studio

Our key challenge was not to catch the attention of children with the ad’s vividness and animation style – which was a huge struggle for the team. Luckily in the meantime outside factors allowed it to go back to the live-action shoot with a limited crew. So we dusted off the first version of our script, and while we left out most of the drawn scenes to be safe, we still ended up with a beautiful spot after all the adversities of this difficult period.

About the creative concept

Let’s have a few words about the creative concept. When developing the communication strategy, we were looking for a subject that could convey our message in a colourful way in a variety of areas. A concept that inherently entails what we want our brand to achieve: to make people stay open to the colourfulness of life. This is how the Stay curious message was born. 

And then the coronavirus showed up in our lives. So we had to stow away the already approved live-action treatment we selected into the bottom drawer of our desk. Only to learn later, after repeatedly consulting with the ÖRT (Self-Regulating Advertising Body), that we can’t turn it into an animation either, because it’s difficult to create a visual world that definitely won’t appeal to children.

But thankfully we still had our original film in that drawer. And then, in a feat of production and creativity, we were finally able to bring to life the film we had been planning for close to six months at that point. Though it turned out to be a bit different than what we first envisioned, we were still very satisfied with the end result. And no, not only because we knew how many challenges we had had to face while developing it, but because in the end, we managed to create a film and a campaign that we can be pretty proud of.  

And here are a few images that illustrate the paths we took when planning the Friss campaign. And a TVC we made.

Fun facts about fun facts

Oh, and here are some fun facts out of the dozens we had found that we loved but unfortunately had to shelve:


Are you curious about how loud the heartbeat of a blue whale is?

You can hear it even from 3 km.

Why we couldn’t use this fact: whales are considered to be animals attractive to children.

Are you curious about how Monet became rich?

He won the lottery.

Why we couldn’t use this fact: gambling is a no-go.

Or are you curious about how space smells?

Some astronauts say it smells like overcooked steak?

Why we couldn’t use this fact: too disgusting, we guess.

The list could go on, but we think you get it.

About the Strategy

Flavored beers on the rise – about the category

The beer-mix or Radler category is one of the most exciting categories within the beer market. International data show that the category is on the rise, driven by the non-alcoholic versions and innovations. This is a direct result of the wellbeing and indulgence trends within the millennial generation – the primary audience of this category. The beer-mix product range is quite diverse across the globe. The category once dominated by citrusy flavors and clear liquids now offers exotic flavours, floral or botanical additions. Recently, nutritional ingredients and mood regulators, and even fusions with spirits and cocktails have been added to the mix.

The Hungarian flavoured beer market is dynamically growing as well. The popularity of the non-alcoholic versions has led to new marketing and portfolio strategies. In many cases, beer-mixes are shifting towards the carbonated soft drink category. Some going so far as to omit their brand name – which in a certain case later had to be reinstated.

Disrupting the category conventions can be low-hanging fruit when defining the growth strategy, especially in a category full of clichés. We concluded that it is not the role of Borsodi Friss to shake up the market entirely. Instead, we decided to be differentiating in our communication and navigate away from the strongly functional benefit-driven approach  towards a more emotional one. (Almost every competitor focused on the ingredients and the rational benefit of the refreshment.)

At this stage of the strategy development, we defined the most relevant consumption moment in the context of the competition, the consumers and the entire Molson Coors product portfolio. Then we gathered and prioritized the product attributes, the rational and the emotional benefits of the Friss brand.

• Now can we transcend beyond the generic millennial traits?
• What are the most relevant tensions in their lives our brand can ease?

One of the most exciting parts of strategic planning is discovering the consumer insights, exploring human truths and tensions our brand can shed new light on.