''Bravo'' (stylized in

all caps In typography, text or font in all caps (short for "all capitals") contains capital letters without any lowercase letters. For example: All-caps text can be seen in legal documents, advertisements, newspaper headlines, and the titles on book co ...

) is the largest

teen magazine Teen magazines are magazines aimed at teenager, teenage readers. They usually consist of gossip, news, fashion tips and interviews and may include posters, label, stickers, small samples of cosmetics or other products and inserts. The teen maga ...

within the German-language sphere. The first issue was published in 1956.

History

The founder of ''Bravo'' was

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...

Peter Boenisch. The first issue was published on 26 August 1956 with thirty thousand copies printed, cost 50

Pfennig The pfennig (; . 'pfennigs' or 'pfennige' ; currency symbol, symbol pf or ₰) or penny is a former Germany, German coin or note, which was an official currency from the 9th century until the introduction of the euro in 2002. While a valua ...

(equivalent to € in ).

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...

's portrait graced the first published issue; the never-published dummy issue cover displayed

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

. The publication was initially subtitled "The Magazine for Film and Television" (). Issue number 13/57 was released on 31 March 1957 with the new subtitle "The magazine with the young heart" () as well as "film, television, pop music" () which disappeared soon afterwards. Starting from issue 34/57 (13 August 1957) the magazine no longer had any subtitles underscoring its newfound focus. In 1968 ''Bravo'' began to be published weekly by Pabel Moewig, a subsidiary of

Bauer Verlagsgruppe Heinrich Bauer Publishing (), trade name, trading as Bauer Media Group, is a German multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Hamburg. It operates worldwide and owns more than 600 magazines, over 400 digital products and 50 radio and TV stations, ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

; the editorial office however remained in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. In the 1970s the magazine sold more than one million copies. By 1996 each issue still sold around 1.4 million issues. ''Bravo'' had a circulation of 825,800 copies in 1999. Afterwards the circulation fell steeply. In 2006 the magazine sold around 460,379 copies. In 2010 the circulation of the magazine was 512,358 copies, making it the best-selling teenage magazine in Europe. In February 2017, ''Bravo'' stopped publishing in Spain with issue 552. However, editions are still published in some other countries. American pop singer

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

, who was a teen phenomenon in the late 1990s and early 2000s, holds the record for most appearances on the cover (56).

Focus group and classic columns

''Bravo'' covers topics which primarily interest youths, among which are current information on

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

and movie stars, as well as relationship and sex counseling. Under the pseudonyms "Dr. Christoph Vollmer" and "Dr. Kirsten Lindstroem" the then-47-year-old author of romance novels Marie Louise Fischer gave advice on relationships (''Knigge für Verliebte'', ''Liebe ohne Geheimnis'') from 1964 to 1969. Martin Goldstein started to contribute to the magazine on 20 October 1969. A practising doctor, psychotherapist, and religion teacher, he took over and replied to readers' questions under the pseudonym "Dr. Jochen Sommer". Goldstein had made a name for himself in

sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual activity, sexual reproduction, safe sex, birth ...

with the publications ''Anders als bei Schmetterlingen'' and ''Lexikon der Aufklärung''. Later, he answered questions about sex as "Dr. Korff", while "Dr. Sommer" concentrated on psychological questions. From the early 1970s on, a whole group replied to questions. The editors put value in the fact that the "Dr.-Sommer-Team" continued to be made up of experts. At its peak ''Bravo'' received around 3000 to 5000 letters on puberty and sexuality per week. In 2006, 400 letters were still received. ''Bravo'' made noticeably strong use of

Anglicism An anglicism is a word or construction borrowed from English by another language. Due to the global dominance of English in the 20th and 21st centuries, many English terms have become widespread in other languages. Technology-related English ...

and "

Denglisch Denglisch () is a term describing the increased use of anglicisms and pseudo-anglicisms in the German language. It is a portmanteau of the German words (''German'') and . The term is first recorded from 1965.Lambert, James. 2018. A multit ...

" starting in the 1980s, long before this became a mainstream phenomenon. ''Bravo'' was – primarily in the 1970s and 1980s – formative for generations of German youths and teenagers, which resulted in the paper's nickname of (

pimple A pimple or zit is a kind of comedo that results from excess sebum and dead skin cells getting trapped in the pores of the skin. In its aggravated state, it may evolve into a pustule or papule. Pimples can be treated by acne medications, anti ...

Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, 'Truth') is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most in ...

). The magazine was sometimes confiscated in schools by teachers. Many of today's adults received all of their sexual education from the articles by the Dr. Sommer team. Within the former

GDR East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

(East Germany) the magazine was forbidden, but still very popular and traded for high prices. ''Bravo'' played an influential part in promoting pop groups and artists in Germany. In addition to the idea of the Dr.-Sommer-team, ''Bravo'' invented the so-called ''Bravo-Starschnitt'' (''star cut''), a

puzzle A puzzle is a game, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together ( or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to find the solution of the puzzle. There are differe ...

of a life-sized poster of a celebrity. Every new issue provided one cutout piece. The first Starschnitt-feature began in 1959 and was a poster of

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a French former actress, singer, and model as well as an animal rights activist. Famous for portraying characters with Hedonism, hedonistic life ...

Controversies

Sexual content

In 1972, two issues with articles on

masturbation Masturbation is a form of autoeroticism in which a person Sexual stimulation, sexually stimulates their own Sex organ, genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. Stimulation may involve the use of han ...

were 'indexed' (prohibited for sale to under-age customers) by the

Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons The Federal Agency for Child and Youth Protection in the Media ( or ''BzKJ''), until 2021 "Federal Review Board for Media Harmful to Young Persons" ( or ''BPjM''), is an upper-level German federal agency and youth protection panel subordinate ...

, because they were deemed youth-endangering.

Former depictions of teenage nudity

The magazine was controversial internationally for its section ''Dr. Sommer's That's Me!'', which often featured sex interviews and full frontal nude photos of teen models aged between 14 and 20, which was later changed to 16 to 20 in the early 2000s. While this was legal in Germany, it caused problems with international child pornography laws. The magazine often worked around the laws by having the models hold the camera's shutter button themselves, thereby showing explicit consent. One former model told interviewers that he did not know his nude image was going to be sold by the photographer to ''Bravo'' for publication in ''That's Me!'' From the early 2010s onwards, the magazine would rename the feature to ''Dr. Sommer's Bodycheck'' and feature those only aged between 18 and 25.

Present

Originally there was only a single ''Bravo'' magazine, today different variants are published. This is a result of higher individualisation and changing interests. The following brands are part of the "Bravo Family": * ''Bravo.de'' (Internet portal for teenagers independent of the magazine) * '' Bravo Girl'' (targeting girls, from 1988 to 2023) * '' Bravo Screenfun'' (for video games and

console Console may refer to: Computing and video games * System console, a physical device to operate a computer ** Virtual console, a user interface for multiple computer consoles on one device ** Command-line interface, a method of interacting with ...

s, from 1997 to 2009) * '' Bravo Sport'' (sport magazine, since 1994) * ''Bravo Sport TV'' (sport TV show) * '' Bravo TV'' (youth television magazine) * ''Bravo Hits'' (regularly published music

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

) * ''Bravo Hip Hop Special'' (published six times a year, focusing on

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

rap Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...

, and R&B, from 2005 to 2012) Teenage magazines like ''Bravo'' are of high importance for the music industry as an advertising medium. Ads can be found in all ''Bravo'' formats. A TV version of ''Bravo'' called ''Bravo TV'' started airing on 16 May 1993, first on RTL 2 and later on

ZDF ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...

. The first presenter was Kristiane Backer, followed by

Heike Makatsch Heike Makatsch (; born 13 August 1971) is a German actress. She is known for her roles as Lisa Addison in ''Resident Evil'' (2002), Mia in ''Love Actually'' (2003), as Liesel's mother in ''The Book Thief'' (2013), and as Carlotta Klatt in '' Whe ...

. After a long hiatus Bravo TV returned on 5 November 2005 on

ProSieben ProSieben (, ''sieben'' is German for "seven"; often stylized as Pro7) is a German free-to-air television network owned by ProSiebenSat.1 Media. It was launched on 1 January 1989. It is Germany's second-largest privately owned television company ...

. The magazine distributes its "

Bravo Otto The Bravo Otto is a German accolade honoring excellence of performers in film, television and music. Established in 1957, the award is presented annually, with winners selected by the readers of ''Bravo'' magazine. The award is presented in ...

" (a small

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

-styled figure) award in different categories. The design of the figure is inspired by

Winnetou Winnetou is a fictional Native American hero of several novels written in German by Karl May (1842–1912), one of the best-selling German writers of all time with about 200 million copies worldwide, including the ''Winnetou'' trilogy. The ...

, played by

Pierre Brice Pierre-Louis Le Bris (6 February 1929 – 6 June 2015), known as Pierre Brice, was a French actor, best known as portraying fictional Apache chief Winnetou in German films based on Karl May novels. Life and films Brice was born in Brest, ...

, who had a longstanding connection within his cinematic role to Bravo. Among the prized artists were pop super stars

ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...

Inge Meysel Inge Meysel (; 30 May 1910 – 10 July 2004) was a German actress. From the early 1960s until her death, Meysel was one of Germany's most popular actresses. She had a successful stage career and played more than 100 roles in film and on televisio ...

(Winnetou), Joachim Fuchsberger,

Stefan Raab Stefan Konrad Raab (born 20 October 1966) is a German entertainer, television host, television producer, and businessman. From 1999 to 2015, he hosted the late-night talk show, late-night comedy talk show ''TV total'' on ProSieben. He also creat ...

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

David Hasselhoff David Michael Hasselhoff (born July 17, 1952), nicknamed "The Hoff", is an American actor, singer, and television personality. He has set a Guinness World Record as the most watched man on TV. Hasselhoff first gained recognition on the soap ...

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...

Boris Becker Boris Franz Becker (; born 22 November 1967) is a German former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Becker won 49 c ...

Bro'Sis Bro'Sis was a multicultural R&B/ pop group from Germany, which was formed through the TV series '' Popstars – Du bist mein Traum'' in 2001. The group comprised the singers Ross Antony, Hila Bronstein, Shaham Joyce, Faiz Mangat, Indira Weis ...

, Horst Janson and many more. Furthermore, each week the readers vote in the Bravo charts, which sometimes oppose the sales charts and are an indicator of artists popularity in the past and today. In 2006, ''Bravo'' released an anthology providing an overview of Bravo's perception of the world within the past 50 years.

Price

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

: €3.20 *

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

: €3.60 *

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

: CHF 6.30 *

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

: €3.80 *

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

: €4.20 *

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

: €3.90 *

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

: kr. 39.95 *

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

: Kč 155 *

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

: €4.90 *

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

: €4.40 *

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

: €4.50 *

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

: €4.30 *

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Andorra Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

: €4.40

Logos

From August 1956, there are two different logos for this magazine. The first logo was in use from 1956 to 1965, the second and current logo was in use from 1965.

References

External links