Marlboro Column Ad

Wollankstrasse (Wollank Street) is the main road we take to get back to our hostel. I come across different advertisements daily on the way home. I chose the Marlboro Ad on one of the columns two blocks from my favorite restaurant, Adria. The ad is wrapped around a huge column, top to bottom. It’s red with the famous Marlboro Man on his horse in black, and green hills below him. The brand’s name, “Marlboro”, is in white so it stands out from the rest of the ad.  I think it’s a very clever idea to have this huge ad wrapped around this column. We don’t have these sort of advertisements in the U.S, so it stood out. I feel some positive attributes the ad has is the fact that it’s creative, different, and will catch anyone’s attention. People will stop and walk around the ad to see the whole thing. Once you have their attention and they are focused on the ad, it’s easy for them to remember the brand and consider it as a choice when it’s time to get a new pack. As far as the negatives, I feel that maybe some people may get too lazy to walk around the column just to see what it says. They may loose interest in the ad because it takes more effort to read it. Either way, I found it to be quite peculiar and creative.

I have seen many advertisements wrapped around columns in Berlin. Apparently, it is a very successful way of advertising. Most of the column ads are placed on streets with heavy traffic. They are usually placed on the corner of these busy roads, so when people are walking down the street, it’s the first ting they see. So far on y trip, I’ve seen approx. 15 column ads, which is very rare in the States. It looks like it may be more expensive to place ads on columns simply because it’s not your normal paper ad on the wall. It has to be a certain material so it can be glued on permanently (until the space is bought out by another brand). Regardless, these ads will make people stop and look, even if for a second, and that’s what I find clever