Having been in Berlin before, I was almost disappointed with most of the ad campaigns I saw in Berlin this year: they were rather tame. When I went last year, there were a lot of edgy social awareness campaigns regarding HIV and AIDS as well as Hepatitis B. For example, there was an ad last year that showed a picture of a Bordello-looking bed which had recently been used. The top half of the ad read: “Fantasies fulfilled?” and a check box to the left had been checked off with a condom. The next line, roughly translated: “worried about HIV/AIDS?” and it was not checked.
By comparison, the “edgiest” campaign this year was regarding alcohol. It had a picture of a casual party scene to the left of the ad, with three though bubbles stemming from the teens. One guy is pointing his camera phone at one of the girls and thinks “I can’t wait to put her naked photos on the internet.” The guy to the right of him thinks “I’m gonna party ‘till the doctor arrives.” Then to the right of the ad, it says Alcohol: know your limit.
I think this ad is extremely effective in reaching its target audience. It’s relevant and shocking, and something that would never fly in the U.S. I mean, just acknowledging that this kind of stuff goes on in America would be shocking enough to prevent it from being run.
Another difference between Berlin and the U.S. is the placement of the ads. In the U.S. it’s pretty conventional, but in here in Berlin it’s much more creative. There are ads up along staircases, on the floor, on glass. Yet somehow, it seems like Berlin is less saturated with advertisements than the U.S. Perhaps it’s because I just never really watched TV or anything, or because I don’t know German, but even though there were many more ads, I just didn’t feel as overwhelmed by them.
