27 May 2004
Special award for "MoMA in Berlin" advertising campaign

The "MoMA in Berlin" advertising campaign developed by MetaDesign in cooperation with Johanssen & Kretschmer will be honored with a special award at a gala ceremony taking place at the Theater des Westens in Berlin on June 7, 2004. Sponsored by the DPWK (Deutscher Preis für Wirtschaftskommunikation), the award for the "Most Effective Public Advertising Campaign" will also be presented to the "Verein der Freunde der Nationalgalerie," the association responsible for organizing the MoMA art exhibition.

The jury summarized the uniqueness and success of the campaign as follows: "The compelling overall production of 'MoMA in Berlin' set new advertising standards in the city's cultural landscape."

The most extensive, lavish, and costliest art exhibition in the history of Berlin's Neue Nationalgalerie established MoMA as a widely-recognized brand name. Up until now, the MoMA cultural assets were relatively unknown in Germany.

The visual treatment and overall presence of the campaign were perfectly matched to Berlin's cityscape. An unconventional advertising approach for a museum, the concept was clearly in tune with the times and MoMA quickly became the talk of the town in Berlin. Teasers, trailers, poster reminder phases, and a unique MoMA city bus sparked excitement in the run-up to the exhibition and helped maintain a substantial presence in the media and in the public eye after the official opening.

Berlin's new "star" campaign attracted attention on the city's streets and on the pages of local newspapers. With extensive media coverage and PR, the campaign was seen by most everyone in Berlin and extended far beyond the city limits and Germany's borders. The widespread, bold advertising was unprecedented for a Berlin museum.

MetaDesign successfully created a unique work of art with the high-impact campaign. Asked about his personal favorite, Nationalgalerie Director Prof. Peter-Klaus Schuster said: "What fascinated me most was the image created for the exhibition and articulated in the 'MoMA in Berlin' title."

The Deutscher Preis für Wirtschaftskommunikation (German Prize for Commercial Advertising) is an up-and-coming new award presented to companies for rational, targeted advertising campaigns. The entries are evaluated by students from Berlin's College of Business and Technology and by the Association for the Advancement of Commercial Advertising.