-Europe’s Biggest Jewish Sporting Event to Play Out in Berlin, 79 Years after Jews were Banned from 1936 Olympics -

 

Berlin. 15 July 2015. The countdown to this year’s European Maccabi Games 2015 (EMG 2015) in Berlin – the biggest Jewish sporting event in Europe – has kicked-off, with M&C Saatchi Berlin and M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment Berlin launching an integrated and PR-driven campaign to raise awareness of the Games in Germany and among Berliners in particular.

 

Marking the first time the Games will ever be held in Germany, the campaign will centre on a series of posters and two short films. The campaign will encourage Berliners to attend the Games, including the opening ceremony in the Waldbühne on July 28.

 

While sport is the central theme of the posters, the campaign also highlights the positive impact Jewish life has in Germany by presenting how naturally Yiddish is incorporated into today’s German vocabulary.

 

Meanwhile, the two short films - “Shalom” and “Mazal Tov” - were created by the Berlin office in cooperation with the production company, Embassy of Dreams. These videos will be released via social media and blogs, as well as being distributed to traditional media, in order to promote the Games online.

 

In addition to the creative campaign, M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment supports the Games PR efforts and negotiated sponsorship for the Games, and secured support from the Wall AG, Berlin’s biggest provider of OOH advertising space. The Berlin-based company generously agreed to sponsor a large advertising campaign in the host city. In addition, the Wall AG has provided a total of 1500 City-Light-Poster spaces all over Berlin, as well as a “digital subway station” in the Friedrichstraße, for the campaign.

 

Björn Bremer, Chief Creative Officer & Partner of M&C Saatchi Berlin said: “Sport has always fostered connections between people and should be completely independent from politics. This is why it was very important for us to use the joy of sports as the focal point of this campaign.”

 

Torsten Wirwas, Managing Director of M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment, said: “We, as a Berlin-based agency are proud to have contributed to such an important historic event. This campaign is aimed at the openness and humour which Berliners are known to have. We are confident that this campaign will succeed in triggering enthusiasm for the Games in Berlin.”

 

Daniel Wall, chairman of the board at Wall AG, commented: “Berlin, as the host city of the games, is sending an important and strong signal of freedom and peace to the world. It is very important for us to help make the Games visible to all Berliners with our advertising property.”

 

Dr. Oren Osterer, Managing Director of Makkabi Deutschland GmbH, added: “We are thrilled to have received such a massive presence in the city with the generous support of the Wall AG. Furthermore, we are proud that the campaign has been implemented by such a well-known agency, which understood our needs from the beginning of the creative process, creating images we can fully identify with.”

 

The European Maccabi Games will be officially inaugurated by Federal President Joachim Gauck at the opening ceremony in the Waldbühne – which has historical resonance as the same stadium where Hitler stood during the notorious 2936 Olympics - on July 28. Over 10,000 spectators are expected to attend the event, which will be hosted by German TV-star Palina Rojinski.