Don't get angry
Edeka is racking up clicks again—despite, or perhaps precisely because of, the Nazi controversy.
For a Christmas campaign to devolve into a debate about the Nazis—that’s quite a feat. Jung von Matt/Alster and Edeka have managed to do just that—whether intentionally or by accident. With the very kind assistance of Sabine Bamberger-Stemmann, director of the Hamburg State Agency for Political Education.
In the «Zeit schenken» commercial, the word «Muss» plays a central role. A Volvo seen in the film has the license plate «MU SS 420.» One could certainly hold this—possibly calculated—provocation against the agency, since the letters «SS» are banned on license plates in Germany for understandable reasons. Anyone who uses “SS” knows what they’re getting themselves into.
Both license plates are purely fictional and represent the words «Muss» and «Soll.» The number combinations are also purely fictional and were randomly selected and added during post-production. (Edeka)
Instead of limiting her criticism to the specific offense in question, Ms. Bamberger-Stemmann combed through the ad for other Nazi symbols. She found what she was looking for—but she went so far overboard that it has now actually worked in the agency’s and the client’s favor.
Bamberger-Stemmann sees the number 420 as a reference to Hitler’s birthday on April 20. She knows that this is a common code, especially in the Anglian region. As an aside, 420 has been a much more widespread code for marijuana around the world for decades (Explanation).
Another license plate in the commercial also comes under fire: «SO LL 3849.» According to Bamberger-Stemmann, 84 stands for «Heil Deutschland,» embedded within the number 39, which stands for «Christliche Identität / Christian Identity.».
In an interview with the Manager Magazine However, Bamberger-Stemmann isn't bothered by individual references, but rather by the overall tone of the commercial. And to top it all off, a classic board game also falls victim to this trend: «In any case, the commercial—especially at the beginning—portrays an idyllic world and conveys values that are also associated with the New Right. For example, the children are playing an old-fashioned version of »Mensch ärgere dich nicht.'" All sorts of things!
If we don't leave the desire for a slower-paced, less stressful, and less commercialized Christmas season to the New Right, Jung von Matt and Edeka, following last year's # Coming Home It’s actually another wonderful Christmas ad that really speaks to many people’s hearts. This is evident not least from the more than 800,000 views per day. Many people likely only became aware of the ad because of the Nazi controversy.
The YouTube channel Bohemian Browser Ballett, founded by Schleckysilberstein.com and part of the ARD’s online initiative «Funk,» has taken up this topic and shows that Ms. Bamberger-Stemmann is no better and is rife with Nazi symbolism. Seek and you shall find. (hae)
