The Czech viewers have several specifics. First of all, they are very sensitive to authenticity and prefer ads that are real and natural. Advertisements that try to flatter the Czech audience with excessive pathos or are visibly full of foreign mentality often fail because Czechs are sceptical about exaggerated propaganda. This translates into a preference for simplicity and clarity in campaigns.
In addition, the Czech audience is very fond of humour – especially ironic and self-ironic humour, so ads that manage to casually create a relaxed atmosphere usually have an open path to the audience.
Another specificity is the strong orientation of Czech viewers towards prices. However, despite the desire for discounts, the Czech audience values quality, and therefore ads that emphasise value for money or traditional values have a better chance of success with the Czech audience than those that focus purely on prestige or luxury or only on discounts.
However, cultural context and national history are also important factors. The Czech audience has a close affinity with traditions and local values. Today, we will look at a few campaigns where Czech advertisers have managed to sneak art – both Czech and foreign – into their campaigns. Judge for yourself how successful they were.
Picasso in a fitness centre advert
The Spanish painter Pablo Picasso is a popular source of inspiration for many creative agencies, and references to his work or artistic style abound in foreign advertisements. In the Czech Republic, Leo Burnett used Picasso in a campaign for the Holmes Place chain of fitness centres:
Pilsner Urquell – the brand inspiring Czech greats
Pilsner Urquell is one of the brands that successfully exploit famous moments in Czech history. A series of advertising spots featuring prominent Czech personalities is subtitled “Inspiring Taste”. In 2006, the brand enchanted the Czech audience with an ad in which the beer gem is combined with a musical gem. The actor Václav Mareš portrayed Bedřich Smetana who – inspired by a pint of the national drink – wrote his famous cycle My Country. The advertising spot designed exclusively for the Czech market comes from Leo Burnett:
Video: Pilsner Urquell - Bedřich Smetana
With this campaign, the brand continued its previous spots focused on significant moments in Czech history, such as the Christmas ad in which Josef Jungmann celebrates the beauty of the Czech language, or the National Theatre featuring one of the most famous arias from The Bartered Bride by Bedřich Smetana.
In 2009, the Pilsner Urquell brand turned to the important Czech Art Nouveau painter, graphic artist, and designer Alfons Mucha. His story takes place between 1910 and 1928 at the Zbiroh castle. Alfons Mucha, already a very successful and renowned painter at that time, found his true fortune there and in 18 years created his magnificent work Slavic Epic, a monumental cycle of twenty large-scale paintings depicting moments from the history of the Slavic nations.
Video: Pilsner Urquell - Alfons Mucha
Antonín Dvořák brings joy to baking
Who doesn’t know the slogan “Baking is joy, Hera is baking.” It is a widely known catchphrase from a 1998 advertising spot whose fame is certainly supported by the musical background – the famous Humoreska by another Czech musical great, Antonín Dvořák:
Video: Hera – Baking is joy, Hera is baking
However, it is not only Hera who has taken a liking to Antonín Dvořák. Billa chose his work as well. The Billa Regionally spot features Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances, specifically the tune from Slavonic Dance No. 7, “Skočná”.
Video: Billa regionally
Czech-style Mona Lisa
The fact that the Czechs have originality to spare is evidenced by the feat of the Czech company offering slope movers, Dvořák – svahové sekačky, that did not hesitate to use one of the world’s most famous works. In 2017, the portrait of Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa mowed into the lawn appeared on a hillside near Dolní Kalná in the Trutnov region. It took almost three days to complete the 250 x 200 metre image on a slope with a gradient of up to 45°. According to the authors, the most time-consuming part of the process was the surveying of the painting on the hillside rather than the actual mowing. A team of surveyors reportedly worked on it for two days. Operators with Spider mowers then mowed the entire image in less than ten hours. In the video below, you can see how The Mow-na Lisa image was created:
Video: The Mow-na Lisa
No doubt both world and Czech art have potential in advertising. And when a good portion of storytelling, a few dashes of humour, and a spoonful of originality are added to the Czech advertising cocktail, every Czech viewer will lick their lips. The important thing is that advertising does not slip into too much pathos when using art.
