Lucerne exports
Theater: The Lucerne-based agency Velvet is working with the Kammerspiele Munich for the second time—and is now also promoting theaters in Freiburg and Cologne.
Theater The Lucerne agency Velvet is working for the Kammerspiele in Munich for the second time - and is now also promoting the stages in Freiburg and Cologne. On the stages that mean the world, there has long been an international comings and goings as far as directors and actors are concerned. Well-known names in Switzerland include Volker Hesse at the Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin, Stefan Müller at the Burgtheater in Vienna and Christoph Marthaler in various places. What is new in this cultural merry-go-round is that an advertising agency can also step out from behind the Swiss curtain and reap international applause for its work: the Velvet agency in Lucerne created the advertising for the local municipal theater when Barbara Mundel was artistic director there from 1999 to 2004. When Mundel moved to the Kammerspiele in Munich as head dramaturge, she not only took a few actors with her - as usual - but also the advertising agency. This became Velvet's first act abroad. When Mundel then moved to the Theater Freiburg, Velvet's 2nd act followed. However, artistic director Frank Baumbauer in Munich did not dismiss the Swiss mercenaries from his service. Their advertising has not only brought his theater excellent capacity utilization, but also theater-ready "scandals" in the press.
The poster with Pope John Paul II - with an elephant's head and trunk on the spiritual leader of the Catholics - made it onto the front page of the Munich evening newspaper with a scandal. In the same 2004/05 season, the Kammerspiele was also voted German "Theater of the Year". That attracted attention. Velvet and four other agencies were invited to an evaluation in Cologne. The audition was successful. Act 3: In the coming season, the Lucerne-based company will also be looking after the Schauspielhaus Cologne.
"Don't be afraid" is the motto of the current season in Munich. Velvet has developed a poster campaign that uses modern imagery to address political and social issues.
But the agency in Lucerne doesn't just cultivate art. Velvet also has clients such as the international ski company Völkl and advertises Stimorol chewing gum, for example. One of Velvet's recipes for success, according to CD Jürg Schaffhuser, is to incorporate the experience gained from marketing such commercial products into culture and, conversely, to put a little more culture back into commerce.
Andreas Panzeri
The poster with Pope John Paul II - with an elephant's head and trunk on the spiritual leader of the Catholics - made it onto the front page of the Munich evening newspaper with a scandal. In the same 2004/05 season, the Kammerspiele was also voted German "Theater of the Year". That attracted attention. Velvet and four other agencies were invited to an evaluation in Cologne. The audition was successful. Act 3: In the coming season, the Lucerne-based company will also be looking after the Schauspielhaus Cologne.
"Don't be afraid" is the motto of the current season in Munich. Velvet has developed a poster campaign that uses modern imagery to address political and social issues.
But the agency in Lucerne doesn't just cultivate art. Velvet also has clients such as the international ski company Völkl and advertises Stimorol chewing gum, for example. One of Velvet's recipes for success, according to CD Jürg Schaffhuser, is to incorporate the experience gained from marketing such commercial products into culture and, conversely, to put a little more culture back into commerce.
Andreas Panzeri
