Study Abroad: Week Three

So, this week’s blog topic is about media systems in Spain compared to the United States. For those unfamiliar with the term “media systems,” this refers to advertising, news, film, and so on. In this post, however, I am going to be specifically focusing on advertising in Spain because I am majoring in journalism with a focus in advertising.

To my surprise, I have noticed more similarities than differences in the advertising in Spain versus in the United States. It is displayed to the public through bus wraps, billboards along highways or on buildings and posters/boards in the metro and on the sidewalk. Obviously, there are even more mediums that are used in Spain, but these are some that I notice most often in my day to day life here.

Also, the general set up of ads tends to be similar to ads in the United States. Generally, the ads feature a photo or graphic of some sort with short copy that gets right to the point. We see this same style of advertising in the U.S. as well and I have even learned about it in my classes. It makes me curious if they are teaching advertising students in Spain the same concepts that I learn about in Texas.

There are also some obvious differences between advertising in the U.S. and advertising in Spain. The first is the language. I do not speak hardly any Spanish, as I have previously mentioned in other blog posts. Almost all ads are in Spanish which makes reading ads very difficult for someone who does not speak the language. In Texas, most ads are in English but from time to time there are ads in certain areas that contain Spanish copy. The copy is usually simple and easy enough for any person to understand even if they do not know Spanish. In Spain, the only English ads I have seen are at the airport and nowhere else.

Another obvious difference is the branding. In Spain, certain brands present themselves differently through their advertising. An example of this is Fanta. Their ads do not contain pretty influencers drinking their sodas like their recent U.S. campaign. Their logo even looks different from their logo in the United States. Instead they focus on graphics and the flavors that they offer.

The final difference that I have noticed is how some ads occasionally fit into their surroundings. An example of this would be an ad on a building and how it will appear to have windows and terraces behind the actual content of the ad. I wonder if this is required of the ad in order for it to be placed on a building or if the advertiser chooses to ad this detail to the ad as a sign of respect for the architecture. In the U.S., ads on buildings almost never try to fit in to the surrounding architecture.

When visiting the Spain branch of an advertising agency known as DDB, I had a bit of a revelation. At this visit, we got to talk with Miguel Rodriguez Mansfield who works in Business Development. He showed us many of the company’s award-winning advertising spots and many of the successful ads had elements that easily surpass barriers such as language and culture. As a human race, we all have emotions and we all strive to feel something. Ads that touch a person’s emotions will be successful no matter the nationality of the person watching. I hope that in the future I can be part of creating a campaign that has the ability to reach beyond the U.S., beyond language barriers in order to ultimately connect people across the world over a common feeling or issue.

#studyabroad #maybornmadrid #madridspain