German Ads Attack Extremists: Campaign From Publicis-FCB Goes After Racist Groups By Daniel Tille

PARIS - Publicis-FCB in Frankfurt, Germany, has produced a print and outdoor campaign for that city which protests

The ads were created following a joint request by all the principal German democratic political parties in Frankfurt. ‘This is not the first time we have been approached by governmental organizations seeking public service work,’ said Robert Koschitz, general manager of Publicis-FCB/Frankfurt. He explained that Publicis’ extensive experience with pro bono work is what prompted this request.
The campaign ‘plays on Frankfurt’s full name as it’s commonly used: Frankfurt/Main,’ said Koschitz. (There is a second Frankfurt in the eastern half of Germany, explaining why ‘Main,’ which is the river running through the city, is used to distinguish the two). In German, ‘main’ carries a dual meaning, one being ‘essential.’ The print ads join various words to the ‘main’ suffix. For example, Toleranz/Main (Tolerance/Essential), Menschlichkeit/Main (Humanity/Essential), Liberalism/Essential, and so on. ‘This is how we decided we could best express our arguments against these extreme rightists,’ he added.
Koschitz said that following a press conference introducing the posters several weeks ago, advertising companies offered free outdoor space to display them. ‘They were all over the place at the Dec. 13 Frankfurt rally against racism attended by over 150,000 people,’ he pointed out.
A number of groups have expressed interest in expanding this anti-xenophobic effort. He said that if officially requested, Publicis would agree to expand the campaign to other cities.
Daniel Tilles writes for Communication CB News in Paris
Copyright Adweek L.P. (1993)