First Impressions of Advertising in Berlin

Funky. Hip. Innovative. Creative. Unique. These are only just a few words that describe the distinctive advertising techniques that are scattered all around the city of Berlin. I have never been to a city that was open to self expression and appreciative of creative ideas and concepts. As you can see with the picture above, advertisements in Berlin hold no barriers! The ad is taken from the clothing store called the United Colors of Bentton. It was located in an area of Berlin called Krusfadamm and it was centered in the middle of a busy shopping center. I was actually shocked to see the ad because in America I would never expect to see an ad portraying a woman’s breast in the middle of a shopping center! I sincerely respect the honesty of the advertisements because the images that the ads might display may be taboo but they acknowledge that its apart of life and the ads in Berlin don’t shy from them.
Throughout the whole city you can’t help but notice all of the many creative advertisements! The ads are extremely interesting but more so are the different techniques of how they are displayed throughout the city. For instance, I saw one advertisement for Ray Ban featuring Shaun White that was depicted on the stair case that can only be noticed when you’re standing directly in front of the steps. I also saw a unique advertisement that looked as though it was being painted on by an actual person when in actuality it was only a dummy standing on the latter. Berlin is so busy and overcrowded that advertises have to use different techniques to get people to notice them. Also, I noticed that many of the advertisements are featured all over the city continuously. The ads that were repetitive were the Sex in the City movie poster, Red Dead Redemption X-Box game, and the Macintosh Ipad. With these three ads being most predominant among others, I would assume that advertisers view Berlin as a city full of a younger, “electronic- friendly” demographic and are trying to specifically target this age group.
Compared to Miami, I believe that the advertisements in Berlin are made for a mass audience rather than localized. The ads are more standardized and can be used in any other part of the world. But in Miami there are many ads that can only be decoded by the people who are from the area. For example, IKEA developed billboard advertisements that made reference to the different parts areas that are in Miami. One ad said “IKEA is to Miami just like dominos are to Calle Ocho.” This technique is a great strategy because it allows the consumers of the location to feel that the advertisement is talking to the individual personally.
Overall, I found the advertisements in Berlin to be very innovative and inspiring. I notice myself developing new ideas of how I would advertise different products. The advisement images and messages were very forward and “in-your-face.” Also the techniques used to deliver the messages are more advanced than in America. The only thing I would recommend is for the advertisers to localize their advertisements to attract more residents in the city. Berlin is an amazing city and the advertisements just add to its charm!