Germany: Overview

Last year’s slim awards pickings might suggest that Deutschland is dogged by its own cliché – a fondness for rationality that can crush creativity. Yet a reputation as “the world’s most accurate nation” belies the sense of humour and adventure displayed by recent ads for Lufthansa, Hornbach and Sony. Selena Schleh surveys the scene, from beautiful Berlinians to shitty seagulls

Germany’s reputation for logic, efficiency and organisation should make analysing the country’s advertising scene a doddle. Turns out it’s almost as difficult as pronouncing the German word for ‘555’ (fünfhundertfünfundfünfzig, if you’re feeling orally adventurous).

For one thing, unlike most countries, the industry is geographically split between six different hubs, each with a distinct character. Hamburg, in the north, is still seen as the ‘seat’ of traditional advertising, while graffiti-clad Berlin, with its youthful international talent pool and ‘European Silicon Valley’ tag stands for pioneering creativity, but then there’s also Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Munich and Stuttgart to consider – making a lot of ground to cover.

Add to that the German propensity for self-deprecation and it’s hard to tell if the country’s advertising output is as ‘meh’ as insiders make out. “To be honest, there’s not much work out there at the moment that makes you feel jealous,” shrugs Guido Heffels, CCO at Heimat/TBWA. “If you measure the standard of creativity in awards, [2016] wasn’t the best year for Germany,” agrees Carsten Fillinger, CCO of VCCP Berlin.

It’s true that last year saw nothing to match the audacious brilliance of Grabarz & Partner’s Nazis Against Nazis stunt for EXIT-Deutschland, which swept the board at global awards shows in 2015. Despite Jung von Matt bagging second place in the Independent Agency of the Year category, the country’s overall performance at Cannes 2016 was disappointing, bringing home just 64 Lions – 10 fewer than the previous year.

Shitting all over innovation

Some blame Germanic perfectionism. It certainly helped shape the country’s creative heritage – what VCCP’s Fillinger describes as “fantastically crafted, at times very high-brow work… [with] that one brilliant line” – and that copy-driven ethos and deft wordplay is still evident in print and outdoor.

But, in today’s breakneck-paced, visually-led, digital world, could the national tendency to overthink things be paralysing creativity? “Perfection[ism] is our curse,” reckons Heimat’s Heffels. “Germans are masters of theory, not of deeds. Perhaps this is the core of the German ad style: ambitious, [but] with a foot on the brake.”

That means an increasing amount of time is spent theorising, rationalising and testing rather than doing, says Michael Kittel, founder of Berlin-based boutique Kittel: “Most clients approach their advertising in a logical way, by doing lots of research, which results in factual, message-overloaded communications which are ‘right’ but not compelling.”

Then there are the universal industry challenges to contend with. “Digital, data, innovation and experiential aren’t new talking points… but they are taking the spotlight as they become more and more important. BBDO has already invested in these areas and other agencies are following,” notes Darren Richardson, CCO of BBDO & Proximity Düsseldorf.

Some of this investment has borne fruit: thjnk Hamburg, for example, has aimed for the stars – or rather the moon – by harnessing Audi’s tech for a lunar rover project. But if Jung von Matt/Elbe’s 2016 Titanium entry – a robotic, sunscreen-shitting seagull for Nivea, which jury president Sir John Hegarty called “the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen” – is any indication, there’s some way to go before Germany’s adland is leading the field in innovation.

Branded content – where to put it and how to make it engaging – presents another challenge. Some agencies are using influencers to reach their target audience; VCCP Berlin’s recent docu-style shorts for BMW motorcycle brand Motorrad featured biking insiders. As VCCP’s Fillinger points out, “the closer you get to [influencers], the closer you get to the hearts of people out there.” Others, like Scholz & Friends, have set up editorial ‘arms’, producing content based on the news cycle, or merged with publishing houses, repurposing existing editorial content for brands. Amsterdam Berlin is one such hybrid taking on the likes of VICE with its new pop-culture platform – read more from founder Moritz Grub on page 66.

Fabian Frese, MD of creation at Hamburg agency Kolle Rebbe, believes change is afoot. “We’re getting better at producing integrated campaigns and using different media in a smarter way than we did in the past. And we’re starting to try out things without knowing what’s going to happen – which is a remarkable development for the world’s most ‘accurate’ nation!”

The balls to be more brilliant

So is traditional advertising in Germany dead? Not quite, as a handful of top-class spots prove. You’re Alive. Do You Remember? and Your Project Only Belongs To You demonstrate the creative strength of Heimat’s 15-year-strong partnership with DIY retailer Hornbach, while the balloon-exploding extravaganza in Sony Bravia’s More Brilliance, More Beauty, from DDB Berlin, recalls the high standards of craft set by 2005’s Balls. Edeka’s blackly comic Coming Home, out of Jung von Matt, in which an old man fakes his own death to reunite his family at Christmas, and Kolle Rebbe’s dig at British preconceptions of the Krauts in Lufthansa’s Everyone’s Fanhansa both subvert the ‘humourless’ national stereotype to great effect.

Films such as these, which combine smart concepts with high-end execution, are keeping production companies afloat in a time of shrinking budgets and in-house production. “Nowadays, a production company is seen more as a label you choose for a certain quality standard and because of performance expectations,” says Mandy Kothe, EP at Wanda Hamburg, whose recent projects include a branded music video for Strellson, directed by dynamic Deutsch duo Wolf & Lamm.

As for Germany’s non-exclusive representation system for directors, which currently rewards the producer with a fast dialling finger, there are signs of a welcome shift. Currently, “There’s no time to think about who would be the best fit for the job – you have to be really quick,” says Juri Wiesner, EP at Cobblestone Berlin, adding that it’s hard to develop close relationships, and even harder to find the time to nurture young talents.

Anorak Films Berlin, which opened mid-2015 and counts the likes of Sebastian Strasser on its roster, is spearheading the move to exclusive representation. “We’re driven by a strong relationship with our directors and we couldn’t imagine it any other way,” says EP and founder Christiane Dressler. “[Exclusivity] strengthens our work and the relationships that we have with agencies and clients.” Exclusivity would also help develop the reels of the new directors emerging every year from the famed Filmakademie Baden Württemberg, whose recent alumni include Daniel Titz and Dorian Lebherz, the young German duo behind 2016’s viral test spots Dear Brother (Johnnie Walker) and ABC of Death (Volvo). But all told, says Wanda’s Kothe, “There are great opportunities [for new directors] at the moment… they see more boards these days, as creatives are starting to trust young talents again.”

Brexit offers Berlin an entrance

Fifteen years ago, being based in Germany was a disadvantage for a director, notes Anorak’s Dressler, but that’s no longer the case. In fact, the advent of Brexit could see creatives of every stripe flocking to the Fatherland. Earlier this year, Germany’s FDP party ran a cheeky ad inviting British start-ups to Berlin, and it’s been suggested that global advertising accounts currently being run out of London will relocate post Brexit.      

Either way, Germany has already gained international clout following several high-profile hook-ups between large global networks and indie agencies. Hot on the heels of Publicis/Pixelpark, MullenLowe/GGH and JWT/Hirschen Group, comes Heimat’s recent merger with TBWA. “We always regarded a permanent evolution as mandatory,” explains Heimat’s Heffels. “We wanted a global perspective.”

Whether these mergers will boost Teutonic creativity remains to be seen, but as VCCP’s MD Robin Karakash points out, the drive is there. “With Germany being an economic powerhouse with global brands, we need to live up to global standards of creativity. Are we quite there yet? No. But there’s real ambition [to achieve this].”