„The Hans Brinker Budget Hotel has been proudly disappointing travellers for forty years. Boasting levels of comfort comparable to a minimumsecurity prison, the Hans Brinker also offers some plumbing and an intermittently open canteen serving a wide range of dishes based on runny eggs.“ [1]
The basic style of public communication the Hans Brinker Budget Hotel uses is telling everyone how horrible it is to stay in one of their rooms. They highlight all those things as special features that other hotels wouldn‘t mention because they are either nothing special, like doors that lock, or even something you wouldn‘t want the customers to know about, like the dog shit in front of the building.
Hans Brinker Print Ads 1996
By doing so, they distinguish themselves from their competitors and address those that find their style amusing and cool, which will most likely be young people like students who are looking for a cheap place to stay.
The style of their advertisement is very simple — print-ads usually consist of a big picture, a drawing or a photo, a headline or slogan and the name of the hotel. The pictures are very specific, as they show things that are unusual for advertising, like people that look tired and miserable or a bunch of cigarettes on the floor. This catches the attention of the audience, makes them look closer and read the text, which gives the picture usually a funny meaning.
Because the Hans Brinker Budget Hotel focuses so much on the nightmares of over night guests of a hotel, the audience can easily understand the ironic messages. That might make them feel sympathy for this hotel, as it both shows their great sense of humor and also indirectly criticizes other hotels or ads in general, that exaggerate positive aspects and try to make the audience believe they were perfect.
All in all, the Hans Brinker Budget Hotel does exactly the opposite of what normal advertising does: Hans Brinker exaggerates all the negative aspects they can think of and tell the audience in a ironic and funny tone how much better a night on a park bench would be compared to their rooms. By standing out like this, they make it easy to remember their name. Their target audience might even get curious if staying there is as horrible as they say, or just book a room there because they like the humor or want to show their friends how brave they are.
References
- [1] http://www.hans-brinker.com/, accessed on 11.12.2012
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