Micky Denehy, chief executive of Guzel Sanatlar/Bates, Istanbul
Turkey, as a modern secular republic, is barely 70 years old, yet it
occupies a land, and inherits a legacy, the history of which spans two
of the world’s greatest empires: the Byzantine and Ottoman. The Turkish
language as it is today was created in a few weeks in 1923 by Ataturk
(the father of Turkey). It was he who forced the Latin alphabet and
phonetic western spelling onto an Arabic language that is still
traceable to its roots in Mongolia. It is definitely not a language to
lend itself to concise, modern copywriting.
Lying at the western end of the Silk Road, Turkey has a glorious trading
tradition based around its bazaars where western merchants sought exotic
eastern products. Turkey has always acted as a natural bridge between
Asia and Europe. Since joining the European Customs Union in 1996, a
move which effectively removes trade tariffs between Turkey and Europe,
Istanbul is witnessing the almost daily arrival of western companies
targeting Turkey’s 60 million inhabitants. These, plus an already
dynamic local economy, make Turkey one of the fastest growing consumer
markets in Europe.
Advertising in Turkey is a true mix of the Byzantine, Ottoman and
western European. Agency appointments are based on either intangible and
intricate Byzantine understandings, driven by Ottoman-type subterfuge or
even - for some - the result of a fair and professional pitch process.
And the creative product? Ten years ago, a fair description would have
been mad, noisy, and incomprehensible. Today the words brave,
unexpected, and sometimes incomprehensible would be accurate enough.
One of the most memorable and creatively awarded campaigns in 1996/7 was
for the recently launched Fanatik daily sports newspaper. The title does
as much justice to the mentality of Turkey’s football fans as it does to
the advertising campaign that supports it.
Using spot colour to highlight the colours of famous Turkish football
teams, the campaign portrays a wide variety of ‘fanatiks’. A baby with a
painted penis is a ‘born fanatik’, the painted fingernails of a girl
scratching her lover’s back illustrates ‘family fanatiks’, and the
painted teeth of a secretly smiling policeman represent a ‘secret
fanatik’. Such fanaticism helps sell a remarkable 300,000 copies a day.
An obvious symbol of Turkey’s advertising acceleration is the
extraordinary explosion of media. Ten years ago there were two state-
owned TV stations; today there are hundreds of channels. New newspapers
are launched weekly and the battle for readership has led to an
aggressive daily promotional battle.
Straddling Europe and Asia, Turkey is an irresistible mix of east and
west, where an innate sense of hospitality makes business selling and
negotiation just that little bit more friendly and rewarding.
Micky Denehy was a Campaign Face to Watch in 1990
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Key facts
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30 seconds prime-time TV: dollars 13,000
Full-page ad in national daily newspaper: dollars 107,000
Total adspend 1995: dollars 648 million (up 158 per cent on 1994)
TV penetration: 92 per cent
Colour: 85 per cent
Video: 8 per cent
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