Where have those carefree, fun nights gone? The endless evenings spent in the city from Thursday till Sunday? Everyone is all cooped up at home after 8 o’clock and if they are lucky, they have someone to wind down with and to have a drink at the end of the day. And we haven’t even talked about barmen, bartenders and waiters—the heroes of nightlife—whose livelihood has been jeopardized by the pandemic. With its latest campaign, Jägermeister aims to support these people: it is time we give back from all the good we received from them over the years.
“The world of Jägermeister is closely linked to nightlife. When we learned that pubs and clubs would close all over again, we immediately started to think about how we could help the bartender community we value so much. This is why we launched the »Keep the Night Alive« initiative,” Jägermeister brand manager József Becs told us.
Jägermeister only changes its label on special occasions—and this is one of them. They invited seven Hungarian contemporary artists to help save the bars put into jeopardy due to the restrictions by designing a unique label: this is how the special #keepthenightalive Jägermeister collection featuring an embossed bottle could debut in stores on December 18 last year.
Bianka Bálint aka Bianicon, Kristóf Kiss-Benedek aka Kisjustk, Fanny Pápay, László Brunszkó aka Nikon One, Barbara Kóka aka Miss KK, Imre Fork and Dániel Labrosse all designed the exclusive labels on the limited edition bottles in their unique style. The creators had an almost completely free hand in designing the labels, and they were happy to share their thoughts about the project with HYPEANDHYPER.
Bianicon | „I made the label based on a »first impulse« and it only made sense later on, so to speak. It depicts a deer girl finding her partner under the starry sky. I added a red poppy into her hair to allude to the herbs in the liquor, while the hand is mine,” Bianka told us about her label. “A lot of people were hit hard by the epidemic, almost everyone needs and appreciates help. I think this project is great because it raises attention to this problem and to the importance of joining our forces through a lighter medium,” she added.
Kisjustk | “I see my label as a separate artwork that engages the consumer, too. You look into it and see yourself: all the feelings and thoughts that everybody else has due to the pandemic. In addition, who wouldn’t think of the old mirrors in their favorite pubs or bars at Lake Balaton, for example, advertising various spirits and beers. I have been amazed by them for a long time and I knew that sooner or later I would paraphrase them,” Kristóf told us. “One of my favorite bars is Nemdebár, therefore primarily I would like to support them with my work,” he added.
Fanny Pápay | “I wanted to convey the atmosphere of child-like joy with my label design,” Fanny told us about her work. “I think one of Budapest’s greatest features is its nightlife, the bars, the freedom. Now this entire field has found itself in a difficult situation and I think it is very important that we support them, thus preserving the city’s colorful pulse,” she added.
Nikon One | “My label has a carefully designed character and message. The stranger with bright red eyes is the night itself. A drink for those who are not afraid of darkness, who love it, whom it turns on, fires up and electrifies, who shine the brightest in the dark,” László told us about his work. “There are several bars and pubs I liked to visit before the restrictions, and I am also friends with the owners and managers of these places, so this matter is especially close to my heart. Helping those in need is the noblest task of all, and in addition it is very exciting and flattering to design your own liquor label as a creative,” he added.
Miss KK | „My goal was to address and engage people with my label. My dolls always have a message on them, too, because I consider it very important to communicate with the audience in an entertaining, thought-provoking or even cheeky manner,” Barbara told us. “Telep pub is very close to me; I like its owners, I remember when the place started. It’s good to see that it became a hit, and it is even better to see nice and friendly faces there from time to time. And supporting each other is always good, especially if I can support the cause through my own art,” she added.
Dániel Labrosse | „The drawing was inspired by old Japanese matchbox designs—they were designed with a limited color palette, often with blue-red and yellow tones, on a black background. The flower is one of the recurring motifs on my works, which I used on this design as the symbol of helping,” Dániel told us. “I have several acquaintances who launched a new place using their savings last January, but owing to the epidemic they could only run it for a couple of months. The epidemic was challenging for everyone on an emotional level, but the current situation is particularly hard on those working in the hospitality sector. Bem Mozi, Telep and Jedermann are all big favorites of mine, and I wanted to help them with my label,” he added.
Imre Fork | “My label is like a party poster, with the colors CMYK-RGB characteristic of my works. In the course of designing, I aimed for a »unified chaos« of the letters and shapes, thus bringing a nightlife party-vibe into the evenings spent at home,” Imre told us. “I have a lot of friends working in the fields of hospitality and event-planning who were hit really hard by the epidemic last year and it was terrible to see it first hand. Those who know me know that I help whenever and wherever I can, and so it was really not even a question whether I wanted to get in on the project. It was great to see how people got the hang of the campaign and those who bought my bottle for New Year’s Eve, for example, automatically tagged my favorite bar Roots, which was a great feedback on how we stick together within the subculture,” he added.
HUF 20 million aid
10,000 items were made of the custom designed Jägermeister bottles, and the brand donates HUF 2,000 to help save the nightlife after every bottle sold—amounting to a total of HUF 20 million. The places participating in the campaign will be selected based on the suggestions of consumers.
Those who wish to participate in the campaign have nothing else to do but to nominate the place they wish to put up for the aid. In order to do that, they have to post a memory on Instagram about their favorite place with the #keep….alive hashtag by filling in the name of their favorite bar (e.g. #keepFAVORITEBARalive). They must also tag the city where the given place is located as well as the @jagermeisterhungary Instagram page. The memory can be a photo, a video or a written post, but you can also nominate your favorite by posting a photo of the limited edition bottles. Those working in the sector can also nominate their own workplaces in the very same manner. The results will be announced in early February, 2021.
Jägermeister Urban Gallery
The Jägermeister bottles designed by the artists will not only appear in the online space and the shelves of stores, but will also pop up in the shop windows of a few bars related to the brand.
For further information about the campaign check out the www.keepthenightalive.hu website and the related social media pages. At the end of the campaign, the original signed bottles will be auctioned off online, and the proceeds will be once again used for helping those working in nightlife.
Cover photo: Balázs Ivándi-Szabó
„Making people see the values of the built environment”| The graphics of Boróka Felső
House with a terrace | beef architekti
