Germany

Smoking ban in Germany

September 2, 2007 By Bryan Coe Leave a Comment

“A new smoking ban has come into effect in Germany. Smoking is now banned in federal government buildings and on all forms of public transport. However smoking is permitted in designated rooms or marked areas in some public transport facilities. Violators face fines of up to 1,000 euros. There’s still no agreement among Germany’s 16 states on a smoking ban for restaurants or pubs. Meanwhile, people under the age of 18 are now banned from purchasing cigarettes. Up until now, the legal age had been 16.” —Deutsche Welle

Man if the Germans can do it. Why can’t we get a ban in PA….

German Marketting: Sex can sell anything..

August 19, 2007 By Bryan Coe Leave a Comment

German advertising has always baffled me. I mean I’m not such a prude that freaks out if there is a lot of skin in an advertisement, but I really think the Germans use sex/nudity a bit too much in their advertising. I remember there was a long running ad on TV that featured a naked woman swimming in a lake. Some of the footage was from underwater looking up at her as she swam. Then she climbed out of the water… remember naked. Can you guess what they were selling?? Probably not. Margarine It all makes sense right?

I came across another good one today. It’s for a gym. Check it out:

Leo’s Sport Club

How much vacation do you get???

June 13, 2007 By Bryan Coe Leave a Comment

Who gets the most (and least) vacation
When it comes to taking a holiday, it’s best to be Finnish, and (not quite) the worst to be American. A new study ranks countries by their paid time-off policies.

CNNMoney.com has an interesting article ranking the best countries when it comes to vacation time. Including paid vacation and paid holidays Finland comes out on top with 30 and 14 days respectively. The USA is not quite at the bottom with 15 and 10. Although there is a foot note (only for the USA) that states: “These numbers reflect typical practice among large U.S. firms. There is no federal law requiring employers to give a minimum number of vacation days and holidays off, paid or unpaid.” In fact in this study the only countries that ranked lower than the USA were what we would call “developing countries”. Germany comes in with 24 paid vacation and 10 paid holidays. Although, from my own experience, I think that might be a bit low. Especially for Bavaria. Very interesting…

“There are better ways to make a career.”

April 9, 2007 By Bryan Coe Leave a Comment

A German job site (jobsintown.de) recently put up this advertisement over a commuter tunnel in Hamburg with the slogan “There better ways to make career”. Turning the tunnel into a giant executive… well, you know what…

Miss Liberty has a lesson for you George!

February 21, 2007 By Bryan Coe 2 Comments

Bush spanked by miss liberty — Miss Liberty teaching Bush a lesson.

AP – Mon Feb 19, 7:46 AM ET

A float depicting U.S. President George W. Bush being spanked by the Statue Of Liberty passes by during the Rose Monday carnival parade in Mainz, western Germany, on Monday, Feb. 19, 2007. Thousands of spectators attended the traditional street carnival parade in the state of Rhineland-Palatinates’s capital. (AP Photo/Bernd Kammerer)