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Comment by MulliMulli | Hacker News Reader

Berlin Transport is doing many things differently, check out their TV ads (turn on subtitles):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pic3FnvUrY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvcpy4WjZMs

The agency that is doing their current campaign are very good at what they do (https://www.jvm.com/en/work/). But I guess if I was being super cynical I'd say hiring a hip ad agency to make your brand sympathetic isn't exactly "doing many things differently", although I admire the success of it.

I think the fact that they are making fun of themselves is nice and different... just compare it with spots of other public transport companies (like this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a5MRlppTAM)... I mean we all know that public transport sucks and these companies usually try to sell it of as relaxed and fun.

> just compare it with spots of other public transport companies (like this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a5MRlppTAM).

The half-naked surfer getting into the tram probably looks totally stupid if one doesn't have the context: This is at a place where in summer many people swim downstream in the river and then take the tram for two stops to get back where they started from, which is a place where people surf. (video, tram can be seen at around 5:00: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py4lPdvPV5o)

So the video is not quite as stupid as it looks.

But who goes swimming with their smartphone?

People do literally everything with their smartphone.

there have been several waterproof smartphones on the marked since the z3 launched

You can buy a waterproof case with a strap for like $6 that's clear and supports touchscreens so you can take pictures in the water. So basically anyone that wants to can.

Yes, you're right: Approximately none of these people have a ticket.

I do - because audiobooks. Streaming (or even downloaded) video is less convenient, but still possible.

In other words, they are insulting the intelligence of their potential customers; that's what they do differently.

Seems like a variation of this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxVcgDMBU94 :D

Honestly those ads just make me think they don't get it at all. I don't want them to make fun of themselves, I want trains on time, when I need them, clean and neat, with a seat not next to a fat or smelly person.

Of course you can't get that with public transportation, so I just drive my car.

I guess you don't live in Berlin. The public transport system is part of the soul of the city. I can't imagine buying a car here. Why would I need to?

Have you taken public transit in Germany? I've never experienced a late or dirty train.

same here. and as always, stupid hyper-educated pseudo-environmental urban hipsters downvote you.

for me, as a german living in berlin for a long time, these ads are an insult to the people. every criticism is legit and they make fun of it because they are politically controlled, get their money anyway and have absolutely no incentive changing things for the better.

one other example of bvg's utter shit show: their mobile app is quite good and even allows to buy digital tickets in real time. but you can't pay with paypal, stripe, bitcoin or apple pay (granted, apple pay is yet to land in germany). and the most hilarious thing is that the ticket you just bought and paid for is not valid without an ID.

prices rise every year while service does _not_ get better. i could go on and on. this public transport is just a big pile of shit.

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