Advertising in Turkey, like advertising everywhere, often uses cultural conventions to sell products. If you have to work on an advertising campaign aimed at the general public, it may be worth talking to a Turkish colleague about how to fit it better around local norms.
Advertising in Turkey is generally less cynical and less ironic than in some parts of Europe: it often focuses around a nuclear family displaying stereotypical gender roles and addresses its audience as “we”.
During the month of Ramadan and the celebrations afterwards, a lot of advertising takes on a seasonal theme, using images of traditional Ramadan drummers and shadow puppets. Towards New Year some businesses advertise using images borrowed from secular interpretations of Christmas.
If you can get the tone just right, your advert will be very successful: people still fondly remember a Cola Turka advert from 2003 where American actor Chevy Chase drank some of the drink and began acting like a Turk.
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