That sweet enemy (je t’aime, moi non plus)
TweetIt’s a well known fact that the Brits despise the ‘frogs’, while the French despise ‘les roast beefs’.
Napoleon once likened the English Channel to a mere “ditch that will be crossed when someone has the boldness to try it.” In 1994, it was permanently breached by the Channel Tunnel — a monument to Anglo-French collaboration that brought London and Paris into day-trip proximity by train. One wonders what Napoleon would have made of that.
French advertising is all about language, culture and themes, right? I found this little gem in the Gare du Nord during my Parisian trip a couple of weeks ago.
The Battle of Austerlitz was a French victory (victoire) but a British defeat (défaite) and the Battle of Waterloo was a British victory but a French defeat.
Being open to the world is about understanding cultural differences and diffent point of views.
Question time!
Is Austerlitz station in London or Paris? What about Waterloo station? 
| Print article | This entry was posted by Lolly on 26/02/2007 at 10:37 pm, and is filed under Advertising and Communication, France, Transcultural Marketing. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site. |
about 4 years ago
this is HSBC isn’t it? i like the play on words in their executions.
about 4 years ago
Hi Reshma,
Ye, this is an HSBC ad. Have you seen it in London?
about 4 years ago
Not this execution but i have seen others. Always see these at airports – where i suppose that is deliberate – since its a good backdrop against which these differences stand out. Dont know whether that is deliberate or whether i am reading too much in between lines.
This reminds me of the Flora print ads i recently saw on the london underground – the ones that draw a distinction between people who stand to the ‘left’ v/s people who walk on the right of the escalators – a gentle reminder of what is good for the heart. I liked those since they dont just use the underground as a placement medium but designed at ad that would resonate with the commuters
about 2 years ago
Definitely a great post. Hats off to you! The information that you have provided is very helpful.
regards
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