Title	RETURN AFTER READING
Brand	MAD MAGAZIN - PANINI VERLAGS
Product/Service	MAD MAGAZINE
Category	C06. PUBLICATIONS & MEDIA
Entrant Company	SERVICEPLAN Munich, GERMANY
Advertising Agency	SERVICEPLAN Munich, GERMANY
Media Agency	MEDIAPLUS Munich, GERMANY

Name	Company	Position
Alexander Schill	Serviceplan	Chief Creative Officer
Henning Patzner	Serviceplan	Executive Creative Director
Cosimo Moeller	Serviceplan	Executive Creative Director/Copywriter
Jan Kromka	Serviceplan	Art Director
Valeria Wentzler	Serviceplan	Account Supervisor
Florian Panier	Serviceplan	Creative Director

The Brief

Every week, 24 Million magazines are sold in Germany. But after being read, they lose their value and end up in the trash can. MAD – the world’s most intelligent magazine was looking for an extraordinary, attention-grabbing initiative that would prove the added value that MAD provides to its readers. Even if the magazine has already been read and has apparently lost its value to the reader.

Creative Execution

No magazine in the world is as self-deprecating as MAD. And this initiative proves once again that MAD provides an added value through unusual ideas. MAD – Return after reading.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

MAD used the bottle recycling system in Germany to give the magazine additional value. In January 2014, MAD printed a bottle recycling barcode on all of the back covers of their magazines. By rolling up the magazine and putting it in a bottle recycler, every reader could receive 25 cents per issue. This allowed MAD magazine to prove that it remains valuable even after having been read.

Results

Thus far, more than 30% of magazines have been returned at recycling machines, meaning that at least this fraction of MAD’s readership has welcomed the idea and will probably also read the next issue.