Amsterdam: Advertising Ambiguity

Alliteration aside, Amsterdam is unlike most other cities in reference to how it presents itself. It is a large city that can rival many in size but it has one small section that steals all the limelight. As an outsider, you may believe that the streets of the Red Light District are of kin to an old time bazaar. Vendors screaming for you to at least glance at their wares while you stumble over other consumers were the visions in my head for the provocative side of Amsterdam. This was something I prepared myself for because advertising your product to gain interest is the lifeblood of any business plan. Despite this initial assumption, this city almost squirrels away its offerings for you to find for yourself. At least, this was my exposition to this remarkable city.

As most college age students do, I headed straight for the Red Light District when I first arrived. In some ways it is a perceived region of the city. You won’t find any official map with a big Red Light District section but it is also marked off with red, glowing posts. So in this way, it is also a bit of an instituted region within the city limits. Dodging bicycles, trains and cars is a necessary ability to have as you travel through the urban landscape. Stumbling over the uneven cobblestone, I finally made it into the ‘Infamous’ Red Light District. Looking around, my reaction was very clearly that of “Is this it”? There were no large signs with “MARIJUANA HERE!” scribbled hastily or promiscuous prostitutes walking around trying to catch your eye. Instead, we found an endless maze of bars, coffee shops and restaurants that were not too much unlike uptown at Miami. The ease took me by surprise and I was quickly acclimated.

Red brick lined streets were discolored by the several different neon lights that read “Coffee Shop” or “Café”. This one pictured is the Old Church Coffee Shop, which sat at the foot of the Old Church located in the heart of Red Light District. Marijuana is a legally traded good in Amsterdam but is not naturally grown here. From a climate standpoint, Amsterdam is far enough north to cause organic marijuana growth to be virtually impossible. Instead, growers build grow houses to simulate the tropic environment that the plant requires. On the street, there was an unsaid understanding that coffee shops were in possession of that commodity. Stepping into one was proof enough. The musty and sweet smell would hit your face and the floorboards would squeak when you made your way to the counter. Several places wouldn’t even give you a menu unless you requested one. In researching Amsterdam, I had already known this was the case within its borders. It is the law in Amsterdam that you cannot advertise marijuana or even show a customer a menu unless they specifically ask for it (Steves). This leads me to ask the question, how do customers know about it? If this was my first time in Amsterdam, how would I know that legal cannabis exists?

Marijuana isn’t the only controversial product sold in Amsterdam though. As the sun goes down, red lights pop on as prostitutes prepare for the night. A legal profession in Amsterdam, these women will set themselves up in dim booths to try to entice you with their smiles and charm. Despite this huge abundance of ‘love’ you will never see an indication of where to find these women. The Red Light District is a realitvely small part of the city so it only takes a little wandering to find these capsules of fornication. According to Amsterdam-advisor (http://www.amsterdam-advisor.com/amsterdam-prostitutes.html), prostitutes pay taxes and must follow rules just like a business. So how come there aren’t billboards that lead to them?

In the hazy basement of a coffee shop I found my answer. I met some college students from Canada who were just as excited to experience the culture as I was. At one point in our conversation, they asked me which coffee shops I would recommend to them. I replied with a few names and they said they would definitely visit them. It was unbelievable that my first hand experience had been an advertisement enough to send these people I had never met to my suggested location. Any marketing professor will tell you that word of mouth is the best form of advertising and that is a primary conduit of information in the Red Light District. In the European Sin City, it’s not so much what you find but how you find it; whether it be hearing from a passerby or just stumbling upon it, Amsterdam is a city that needs to be experienced with no plans, expectations, or billboards.

Steves, Rick. "Best of Europe 2010." Steves, Rick. Amsterdam. Berkeley: Perseus Books Group, 2009. 1070-1071.