For a young advertising student, it must be nice to feel that you’ve fueled a cultural movement, no matter how politically incorrect that it might be. So, the two young minds behind “Wir Brauchen Sarah Palin,” Usman Abdul and Luong Lu, seem pretty pleased that their campaign took off, not to mention surprised that it presented the pair with a merchandising opportunity in the form of iTunes singles and t-shirts.
With German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ratings down and nationalism at an all-time high during last year’s World Cup, the two began littering the streets with propaganda that introduced Palin as Germany’s potential savior. So, how successful was the duo’s campaign? Well, the “boost” on social media actually means 53 Twitter followers and 42 friends and 11 fans on Facebook. Also, a Google search for both “Germany for Palin” and “Deutschland Fur Palin” bring up minimal results.
So, if this campaign from Abdul and Lu didn’t go quite as viral as the two make it out to be, why are we covering it? Because, hey, we think it’s a good idea and a noble attempt for ad students working hard to make their ideas come to life. But, starting off the video with “Hitler’s legacy still lives on in Germany” might not be the best way to get your point across.