The Toilet Walls Strike Back: German media's feelgood initiative flops

[Kellanved]

It was supposed to eradicate grumpiness from Germany. Instead, the "Du Bist Deutschland" ad campaign flopped -- and the campaign's leaders became the global blogosphere's favorite whipping boy.

The idea seemed like a good one: an ad campaign to buck up the German spirit and remind the depressive citizens of Europe's largest (but struggling) economy that things really aren't all that bad. Ad agencies, newspapers and a number of celebrities donated some €30 million-worth of advertising space to the nonprofit Du Bist Deutschland campaign launched last September. Ads appeared on billboards and television, in German magazines and movie theaters, and they featured pictures of the German great and good. Beethoven and Einstein made appearances as did the boxer Hans Schmeling and figure skater Katarina Witt -- not to mention a luminous photo of a delicate human fetus devloping in the womb.

"Du bist Deutschland" was the motto on every picture. "You are Germany." You are talented, beautiful, intelligent, strong.

The aim of the campaign? "To fight grumpiness," wrote Jean-Remy von Matt in an internal e-mail to his employees last October. Von Matt, 53, is the Belgian head of Jung von Matt, the prominent German ad firm that spearheaded the campaign. The e-mail was written after the "Du Bist Deutschland" campaign debuted to nationwide disdain. "The thanks: grumpiness" von Matt continued in the cyber-missive. Fortunately, he continued, the ill humor "came only from the groups you wouldn't expect anything else from."
...
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,397008,00.html

:rofl: Let me confirm it: it was the stupidest campaign ever. The very people earning their money with hundreds of daytime (Jerry) Springer clones tried to sell a very right-wing ad campaign, basically saying: "Be proud! Oh: and work for less money".

[JHB]

1. The "WIN" Pin Strikes back

I was a bit young at the time, but doesn't this sound suspiciously like Gerald Ford's "Whip Inflation Now (WIN)" campaign, which was supposed to beat the 1970's double-digit inflation by having people wear "WIN" pins (or some other do-nothing "just say no", "save the world, buy the tee shirt" PR stunt), which just flopped on its face.

Anyone else have a better memory of it?

[rodeodance]

2. seems to me this is exactly what BushInc is doing in the US-but without

the ads. Is it working?

[sui generis]

3. I'm only 50% a cynic

I believe the intent was noble. Sucks that bobble headed blog twits the world over, including on DU, love to judge failure from the comfort of their ergo chairs and keyboards without daring to fail themselves.

Yeah, that was a judgement, but I dare.

And a word from my cynical side now: wasn't it in some mythical place in Germany that the peasants all went after the Frankenstein monster with torches and pitchforks? Hmmm. Sounds like a mob to me . . .

[TheBaldyMan]

4. at least they got €30M donated

in the UK we have these dumb initiatives all the time, they're government funded but the thing that twists my nipple is they are almost exclusively on Clear Channel billboards. Blair has been subsidising the entire UK advertising industry with similar lunatic campaigns.