BVG - ALLEIN ALLEIN

Short List
TitleBVG - ALLEIN ALLEIN
BrandBVG
Product/ServiceBVG - ALLEIN ALLEIN
Category E02. Brand or Product Integration into Music Content
Entrant JUNG VON MATT Hamburg, GERMANY
Idea Creation JUNG VON MATT Hamburg, GERMANY
Production MMAATTCCHH COLLECTIVE Berlin, GERMANY
Post Production RAIN KENCANA SUPER SUITS Berlin, GERMANY
Additional Company BERLINER VERKEHRSBETRIEBE (BVG), GERMANY
Additional Company 2 NOT A MACHINE Berlin, GERMANY
Credits
Name Company Position
Christine Wohlburg Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) - AöR Head of Sales and Marketing
Doerte Spenger-Ahrens Jung von Matt AG Managing Director Creation
Stefan Giest Jung von Matt AG Managing Director
Michael Wilde Jung von Matt AG Creative Direction:
Oscar Engelhardt Jung von Matt AG Copywriter/Concept
Jonas Lenger Jung von Matt AG Art Direction/Concept
Annette Krebs Jung von Matt AG Project Management
Friederike Speetzen Jung von Matt AG Project Management
Dennis Wendt Jung von Matt AG Agency Producer
Dirk Moritz MMAATTCCHH Collective GmbH Producer
Baris Aladag MMAATTCCHH Collective GmbH Director
Alexander Schimpke MMAATTCCHH Collective GmbH Assistant Director
Friedrich "Feed" Krämer MMAATTCCHH Collective GmbH Film unit manager
Casey Campbell MMAATTCCHH Collective GmbH DOP
Tim Adam MMAATTCCHH Collective GmbH Assistant DOP
Laura Büchel MMAATTCCHH Collective GmbH Styling
Nadin Wagner MMAATTCCHH Collective GmbH Hair and makeup
Laurent Noichl MMAATTCCHH Collective GmbH Photographer
Nicolas Kamenisch Rain Kencana Super Suits Supervision
Jaime Muthesius Not A Machine Producer
Phil Mönch Not A Machine Sound Engineer
Fabian Reifarth Not A Machine Composer
Leon Waterkamp Not A Machine Sound Design Arrangement

Why is this work relevant for Entertainment?

In a time where everything else around us wasn’t funny at all, the BVG came up with a humorous yet emotionally touching song. Allein Allein made people feel less alone in isolation and gave them a bit of joy and hope when it was desperately needed.

Background

As the whole world was shut down in spring 2021, also the vibrant life of Berlin came to a complete standstill. And with it the BVG, Berlin’s public transport service. Because with the lockdown, the number of passengers dropped dramatically. But how could they rebuild trust in public transport in a time of complete isolation? How could the BVG show the people, that they are there for them? Even and especially in such difficult times?

Describe the creative idea

By telling them with honesty, that they were also struggling with being alone. In a remake of the number one hit “Allein Allein” by the German pop band Polarkreis 18, BVG-employees sang an ode to loneliness. In it’s lyrics they humorously described how sad their lives had become without delays, sticky floors, and people blocking doors. Because the BVG just wasn't the same without its passengers.

Describe the strategy

When passenger numbers dramatically dropped throughout the winter 2020/21 the BVG had to react. In a time when almost every other brand approached this situation with over-emotional together-we-can-do-this-statements, the BVG took a different turn. They honestly and with a good sense of humor admitted, that they were feeling just as lonely as everybody else right now. And that they would already be looking forward to a time, when Berlin and the BVG would be as vibrant and noisy as we all love, and just sometimes hate them.

Describe the execution

The music video was released as a viral in the midst of the second lockdown in May 2021. It was shared on all social media channels of the BVG such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Describe the outcome

In the midst of the second lockdown, the song hit a nerve. It spoke not only to Berliners, but somehow to the hearts of all Germans. In the first 24 hours alone, the video got over a million views on YouTube. On social media, comment sections went off the wall. People from all over Germany were moved. And even the band - Polarkreis 18 - was thrilled. The original song “Allein Allein“, was over 10 years old, yet received nearly one million new streams on Spotify. The press reported about this phenomenon nationwide and other public transport companies shared our feelings. With the release of the film, passenger numbers increased again rapidly and ensured that no one had to feel lonely again. In this way, we not only gave Berlin a bit of hope, but all of Germany a song that spoke directly to the heart of an entire nation.