Du Bist Deutschland

There's a heck of a lot of buzz going on in the German blogosphere about this ad campaign. [English user's guide: click on "TV-Spots" on the left, then click on "Der TV-Spot (lang)" on the right of the page that opens up to view the long version...without understanding anything of course, but just in case you're curious.]

The idea behind the ad campaign is to tell the German population to quit complaining and get off your asses and do something about whatever it is that you want to do something about. That includes anything really, because "Du bist Deutschland" ("You are Germany"). Apparently lots of bloggers over there have had their fun with the campaign. And Flickr has a bunch of spoofs of the print ads up. This one is particularly biting:



Part of the actual ad contains a portion where the announcer states that "You don't just 'give gas' [meaning accelerate] on the Autobahn" which is supposed to evoke the idea that you--as a German--don't just 'go for it' on the highway, but you --as a German--'go for it' in real life too! The spoof is self-explanatory. Ouch!

What apparently really started the ball rolling is described well here:

Weblogs, the toilet walls of the internet. (What on earth gives every computer owner the right to exude their opinion, unasked for? And most bloggers really just exude. This new, lowest level of opinion-forming becomes evident when you search for "Du bist Deutschland" on www.technorati.com)

Which, of course, had to be countered by its own spoof.


"You are a bathroom wall slimer" "You believe that freedom of opinion and the press are essential parts of democracy? Jean-Remy von Matt has news for you: What on earth gives every computer owner the right to exude their opinion, unasked for?"

Fun to watch. From a safe distance...