Boards Magazine [canada/world tradepress] 2000

Or read the article now online at BoardsOnline August issue, 2000. "It's a harsh audience for parties" says Åsk Wäppling.

David Bell of KesselsKramer, freelance art director Åsk Wäppling (the proprietress of ad-rag.com and commercial-archive.com) and Dirk Bouw of SWH met at London's School of Communications Arts and wound up working at Dutch agencies. An intellectual yet festive bunch, the three friends threw their first Cannes party four years ago for Dutch music maker Hans Brouwer of Massive Music and Amsterdam/London/Berlin's Condor Post Production and have made an annual tradition of it.

Rising up against the typical party schtick of recycled beats, chat-up lines and general ad industry wankery, a trio of nimbly-minded creatives from Amsterdam buck the trend with an evening of well-conceived debauchery at the Cannes Ad Fest.
David Bell of KesselsKramer, freelance art director Åsk Wäppling (the proprietress of ad-rag.com and commercial-archive.com) and Dirk Bouw of SWH met at London's School of Communications Arts and wound up working at Dutch agencies. An intellectual yet festive bunch, the three friends threw their first Cannes party four years ago for Dutch music maker Hans Brouwer of Massive Music and Amsterdam/London/Berlin's Condor Post Production and have made an annual tradition of it.
This year the party theme was corrupt, American-style politics, highlighted with crowd pleasers such as a midget-Marilyn Munroe impersonator who sang "Happy Birthday Mr. President" and later patrolled the party with two leashed poodle impersonators.
"Party Slut does parties with ideas rather than just throwing a party that everyone else throws, the usual combination of lights, music and people," says Bell. Wäppling adds: "There are all these parties (at Cannes) that are just an extension of somebody's logo, there's no concept. If you are doing ad campaigns all the time, you know about the brand, you have to do the brand concept, you have to have a strategy; we just put that in the party."
Previous years have showcased themes as varied as vigorously offensive bouncers, a medical theme promoting partying as a balm for both body and mind (complete with relaxation bedmasks and drinks delivered via syringes) and of course, partying as religion, complete with elephant-headed gods on the dance floor.
"This party has the budget of a small advertising campaign and you have to do the most creative campaign you can do," explains Bouw.
Planning and preparing for each years party takes four months of schedule bending, but judging from the prone forms sprawled on the beach, a good time was had by all.
"It's a harsh audience for parties," says Wäppling. "Everyone is dying to get an award or talk to someone who is, so it's actually quite tricky to make people relaxed." SH