German: Funny TV Commercials 1

Hello all, Chris here,

below you will find the first in a series of links to various funny German TV commercials. These commercials cover a wide variety of products and range from humorous to more serious commercials. Many feature excellent cultural materials and some even feature dialect use.


Nesquik (this is a really old, classic ad--very interesting for cultural history)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf95NLXSmYQ

Tchibo (more serious, but lots of good language)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8AFVf0IvJE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAmxT77meeQ

Saturn vs. MediaMarkt (funny, with an American accent in German)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp6m6ydV9_k

Coke/WM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ_L9gQRARw

Handelsblatt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0izBFtMLyE

Bild (the language in these is difficult, but they are good)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX_S8mUzHrI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQzc1Q26yls

Windows 7

http://www.myvideo.de/watch/7078604/Windows_7_Spot

Hasseröder Pils

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc6gy6Qt0Mo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dn6rcLc5-g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R98tzDb3_w

Berliner-Pils (not much language here, but good from a cultural perspective)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xp9aVodPlgw

Knorr

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2gULEbiG1c

Tchibo, and others

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVW_3o9T87E&NR=1

Keep in mind that these links may not always work as some videos are pulled from YouTube. If any links happen to be dead, please let us know and we will try to find an alternate link.

A particularly fun lesson involves having students make and record their own TV commercial. This can seem daunting at first but is well worth it as students are allowed to creatively use their language skills.

• What types of lessons could you design using commercials?
• What would be the pros/cons of such lessons?
• What materials would be required?
• What is the expected outcome and benefit to the students?
• What funny TV commercials are there for languages besides German?
• How do these commercials use language, visual imagery, music, and humor?

Questions and comments welcome! Please email us if you would like to present a lesson involving commercials!