McCann Says 'Bucharest, not Budapest'

ROM Autentic, the traditional chocolate bar with Bucharest written on it, together with McCann Bucharest and MRM Romania, launch “Bucharest not Budapest”, a campaign aimed at ending once and for all the confusion between the two capital cities - Bucharest and Budapest.

For decades, Bucharest - the capital city of Romania - was mistaken with Budapest - the capital city of Hungary - and, although it generated indignation and negative comments, nobody reacted.
It all started in 1990, when Michael Jackson started the trend by saying “Hello, Budapest!” at his concert in Romania. Then, in 1995, Iron Maiden made the same mistake. Morcheeba, Lenny Kravitz, Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake and others didn’t consult Wikipedia before coming to Bucharest and continued the trend by saying “Heeeeloooo, Budaaaapeeest!” in front of thousands of Bucharest inhabitants. 

The infamous confusion reached its peak and started making collateral victims last year, when no less than 400 Athletic Bilbao fans missed the Europe League final after mistakenly flying to Budapest instead of Bucharest. 

​

This is why, in the eve of Iron Maiden’s return to Romania, ROM Autentic dares to challenge Romanians to end the confusion. Therefore, all Romanians are invited to help the world understand that the capital city of Romania is BUCHAREST, NOT BUDAPEST.

Supporters of the cause are invited to enter www.BucharestNotBudapest.com and:
•    Download the browser add-on which adds “Not Budapest” next to each “Bucharest” and send it to all the non-Romanian friends together with the video tutorials
•    Choose a supporter widget or a cover photo
•    If they have heard of similar stories, they can add them to the gallery of mistakes on our website, share them on Facebook and tag them with #BucharestNotBudapest

“Yes, Iron Maiden started their Bucharest concert with a loud “Hello, Budapest”. Yes, there is a 5 minute YouTube video with Ozzy Osbourne struggling to get the difference between Bucharest and Budapest. Yes, the list can go on. But the truth is that every Romanian knows a story about someone mistaking Bucharest for Budapest. And even the funny moments hurt the Romanian ego a little bit. That's why ROM, the Romanian traditional chocolate bar with "Bucharest" written on it, had to do something about it. We launched a new national cause aimed to end this confusion once and for all. A reason to make Romanians get involved once again and create a movement that will speak outside of Romania,” stated Catalin Dobre, Executive Creative Director, McCann Bucharest.

 

“It’s a confusion that upsets us all and if there is a brand that can take legitimate action towards this error, that brand is definitely ROM, because it’s Romanian, authentic, daring and because it has BUCHAREST written on it”, stated Gabriela Munteanu, Marketing Manager Kandia Dulce
In addition to the campaign website, video manifesto and tutorials, the campaign also includes giant billboards with the campaign message “Bucharest, not Budapest”, displayed in the vicinity of the Henri Coanda International Airport, Bucharest and Ferenc Liszt International Airport, Budapest. Also, Howard Johnson Grand Plaza Hotel Bucharest partnered with the campaign by offering all of its guests welcome packs meant to help them end the confusion. 

In 2011, ROM Autentic was the big winner at the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival, winning no less than nine Lions, including two Grand Prix and one Titanium Lion – with the campaign “American Rom”. Also, in 2012, the “Romanians are Smart” campaign developed by the same brand, made Romania the first country in the world to change its image on the internet and won 3 Cannes Lions for it.

 

Creative Credits:
Client: Kandia Dulce SA – Gabriela Munteanu (Marketing Director); Elena Petrea (Senior Brand Manager); Gianina Popescu (Brand Manager)
Agency: McCann Erickson + MRM Worldwide Romania + UM Romania
Creative Partner: Adrian Botan
Executive Creative Director: Catalin Dobre, Nir Refuah, Alexandru Dumitrescu
Art Director: Arpad Rezi, Vlad Macarie
Copywriter: Sebastian Olar, Danna Blum, Cristina Tatar
Creative Planner: Adrian Constantin
Account Handlers: Anamaria Ionita, Ionela Buta, Laura Boboc, Alina Marin, Andra Constantin
PR Manager: Carmen Bistrian
Agency Producer: Alexandru Platon; Tiberiu Munteanu
Production Company: Studio Set
Producer: Bogdan Orcula
Media Planning: Alina Carasol, UM Romania