Swiss spot knocks expats on their heads

The spot published on October 5 on the Youtube channel of the airline Swiss plays with the classic cliché that German vacationers would reserve the deck chairs early in the morning by towel. Mallorca tourists are "swissed" in which the presenter provides them with two Swiss Guards to protect their berth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPwiDqWppHU

The spot is intended to "highlight the characteristics of the different cultures in a humorous and charming way," Switzerland am Sonntag quotes a Swiss spokeswoman as saying.

German expat organizations find the ad neither humorous nor charming. Fritz Burkhalter of the Swiss German Club finds the spot "shocking" because it uses old stereotypes and contradicts the idea of integration. According to Michael Gniffke of the Association of German Houses, conveying stereotypes is neither helpful nor in keeping with the times.

That the bath towel cliché is played on in advertising is nothing new, by the way. In January, the English company Travelsupermarket.com caused a laugh with its "Towel Drop" spot from the "Holyday like a German" campaign. For many Germans, too, as a glance at the comments on the videos, which have been clicked on hundreds of thousands of times, shows.

And as early as 1993, Carling Black Label in England was already winning the battle for the best couches every morning in a controversially discussed TV commercial. The reason: The commercial was a parody of the 1954 film "The Dam Busters," which was about the RAF air squadron of the same name that destroyed German dams in World War II with special roll bombs. The film's theme tune was used in the spot. (hae)