Deutsche Bahn: The Real Germany

To raise more awareness for the Länder-Ticket, an economical fare to travel between Germany’s 16 federal states using the railroad instead of a car, we needed a unifying message that would motivate Germans to discover more neighboring communities. Realizing the pride each state has in its own customs and traditions led us to an insight: what if humorously mocking the stereotypical cultural differences between states is what brings Germans together? Using a keen understanding of the local stereotypes that make up Germany’s cultural identity, we produced a series of branded films designed to spark social sharing and media coverage. Each scenario, set on a Deutsche Bahn regional train, played with a social stereotype that most Germans accept but few brands would ever promote: overly-fastidious Stuttgart residents; the cultural gulf between Cologne and Düsseldorf festivals and beer drinkers; and the strange food “delicacies” of neighboring regions. With good humor and a dash of political incorrectness, we showed that Deutsche Bahn understood “the Real Germany,” which proved to be just the ticket for connecting with more passengers.