Mrs. Antje

Ms. Antje in front of the town hall of Gouda (2013)

Ms. Antje is an advertising character for the Dutch dairy association NZO ( Nederlandse Zuivel Organizatie ). The idea came about during Green Week 1959. A young student named Antje had given out cheeses at the booth of the Dutch office for dairy products. When the student fell ill for a short time, visitors worried about her "wife Antje". From this, Hans Willemse (1960 to 1980 director of the Aachen office ) developed the figure of Frau Antje for advertising in Germany by 1961.

history

From 1961 to the 1990s, the figure was the focus of advertising and achieved great fame. The original slogan of the campaign was "Pikantje von Antje", but the later jingle was especially popular : "Frau Antje brings cheese from Holland" from the television advertisement , the music of which was composed by Klaus Doldinger . Advertising was also used in newspapers, magazines, brochures, and Ms. Antje became synonymous with Dutch agriculture and tradition.

The first wife Antje was Kitty Janssen in 1961 . She was replaced in 1963 by Emilie Bouwman , who initially impersonated the character for ten years. After that, the role was given to the younger Ellen Soeters , who, after she had terminated her contract, caused a scandal by nude photos in Playboy . Bouwman was cast again and played the woman Antje until the late 1980s. Saskia Valencia was her successor . In 1998 the dairy association did without the advertising icon because the advertising was no longer considered to be contemporary. The public awareness was so great that it was picked up again from 2000.

In the meantime, the fictional character “Frau Antje”, who has been embodied by Floor Schothorst since 2012 , has become a kind of unofficial “cheese ambassador” who represents the Netherlands at numerous international events. While Ms. Antje is very well known in Germany and rated positively, she is not very popular in the Netherlands and rather controversial, as the picture presented is perceived as unsuitable for the modern country.

See also

• Milk queen

literature

• Sophie Elpers: Mrs. Antje brings Holland. Cultural studies considerations of an advertising figure in transition. Waxmann-Verlag, Münster et al. 2005, ISBN 3-8309-1568-3

Web links

Commons : Frau Antje  - collection of pictures

• Original TV commercial from 1963 on kress media service
• Silvia Tewes: Frau Antje - from advertising figure to national symbol . In: Germany-Netherlands. Clear to cloudy . Book accompanying the exhibition in the House of History of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bonn from November 22, 2000 to April 16, 2001 and in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam from May 26 to September 16, 2001. Bouvier / Bonn. Pp. 104 to 107.
• Andreas Gebbink: Pikantje, Ms. Antje! - Disrepute about the classic cheese
• What does Ms. Antje actually do? , Star
• Christoph Gunkel, one day: 50 years Ms. Antje: Die Käse-Schnitte , on Spiegel Online (accessed on August 13, 2012).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The Germans dearest Dutch woman . WDR reference date, November 12, 2008
2. ↑ 50 years of Ms. Antje , message from the information center for agriculture
3. ↑ Advertising with Ms. Antje  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in the house of history  
4. ↑ http://www.ndr.de/unterhaltung/haben/Saskia-Valencia-Die-Schauspielerin-im-Portraet,saskiavalencia124.html
5. ↑ Ms. Antje is a physicist and wants to get married . Berliner Morgenpost, January 17, 2009.
6. ↑ Mrs. Antje - popular in Germany, controversial in her home country . Science Information Service, November 28, 2005