Bucharest, not Budapest – a new campaign from Rom, McCann Bucharest and MRM Romania

McCann Bucharest and MRM Romania launched a new campaign for Rom chocolate bar, “Bucharest, not Budapest”, a campaign that aims to eliminate the confusion made between the 2 capitals, Romanian one and Hungarian one.

For couple tens of years, Bucharest was confused with Budapest, a situation that generated a lot of indignation and negative comments, but without anyone taking any measure to make the confusion go away.

It all started in 1990, when Michael Jackson started the trend by saying, in Bucharest, “Hello, Budapest!” at his first concert in Romania. In 1995, Iron Maiden made the same mistake. Next in line were Morcheeba, Lenny Kravitz, Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnakes and many others, that didn’t consulted at least Wikipedia before traveling to Bucharest. Of course, they saluted Bucharest with  “Heeeeloooo, Budaaaapeeest!”.

The famous confusion reached to maximum quotas and started to make collateral victims last year, when not less than 400 Athletic Bilbao fans missed Europa League’s final because they flew to Budapest instead of Bucharest.

It is a confusion that bothers us all and, if there’s a brand that can fight this error, that brand is Rom, because it is Romanian, authentic and daring and because it has Bucharest written on

Gabriela Munteanu,

Marketing Manager Kandia Dulce.

For almost 50 years, Rom is a symbolic brand for Romania and Romanians and already made a habit from sweeten up Romania’s image abroad. This time, before Iron Maiden’s 2nd concert in Bucharest, Rom dares Romanians again, this time to get rid once and for all of the confusion between the 2 capitals.

The campaign has a dedicated website, www.BucharestNotBudapest.com, any Romanian can find a browser add-on that adds “Not Budapest” near each “Bucharest” and sends it to all his foreign friends, along with video tutorials. The website also includes widgets and supportive photo covers. The campaign has also its own hashtag on Facebook,#BucharestNotBudapest, that will gather together all the stories related to the confusion made between Bucharest and Budapest.

Yes, Iron Maiden started the concert with a loud “Hello, Budapest”. Yes, there is a 5 minutes YouTube video with Ozzy Osbourne trying to understand the difference between Bucharest and Budapest. Yes, the list can continue. But the truth is that every romanian knows a story with someone that made a confusion between Bucharest and Budapest. And even the most funny ones still affect our pride a bit. And that is why Rom had to do something about it. We launched a new national cause that aims to stop forever the confusion. We created a reason to unite Romanians again, to make them get involved and create a movement that will have echos, for sure, outside of the country

Catalin Dobre,

Executive Creative Director, McCann Bucharest.

It is clear that Bucharest people got tired of the world confusing Bucharest with Budapest! So we used all media channels, digital and offline, to stop the confusion. The digital campaign includes online banners, a dynamic website and activations in social media. we hope that, in the end of this campaign, the entire world would know that we are in Bucharest, not in Budapest

Nir Refuah,

Chief Creative Officer MRM Romania.

Besides website, manifesto, tutorials and PR and social media activations, the campaign also uses huge billboards placed vlose to Bucharest airport Henry Coanda and close to the Budapest airport Ferenc Liszt. Also, Howard Johnson Grand Plaza Hotel Bucharest associated to the campaign, offering to all hotel’s guests presents that would help them make the difference between Bucharest and Budapest.

In 2011, Rom and McCann Bucharest won 9 awards at Cannes Lions Advertising Festival, from which 2 Grand Prix and a Titanium, with “Rom American” campaign; in 2012, “Romanians are smart” campaign for the same brand got 3 Lions at Cannes and made Romania the 1st country that changed its image over the internet.