Citroen C5 - Unmistakeably German
April 1st, 2008National stereotypes can be a funny thing… particularly those about the Irish.
But as we move deeper and deeper into the PC Brigade controlled territory we become more and more petrified of offending anyone by making sweeping generalisations about entire countries.
Tsk, what is this world coming to?
Take the Germans, for instance. Not only do we have some deeply rooted opinions about how all Germans look/laugh/eat/invade etc we also find it impossible to think of Germany without instantly thinking one thing: War!
Hand-in-hand with that is our middle-class hat-full of neuroses about offending people particularly those, it seems, whose arses we’ve kicked on the battle fields of Western Europe on a number of occasions.
Anyway a couple of things have happened to me recently that reminded me of just how true the Faulty Towers’ “Don’t mention the War!” mentality still is.
Firstly at a christening with a large congregation including a number of small children. At one point during the anointment, as we sat in a fake reverent hush, the vicar raised his right hand to “praise the Lord” (or some shit like that). This was the point that one of the children, who could be no more than 12 months old, shouted clear as a bell “Seig heil!”.
The vicar stood hand aloft, frozen in stunned silence. The stained glass windows shattered. Coffins cracked open and the dead sat bolt upright. Jaws dropped and their bony hands slapped against their hollow cheeks.
This is possibly the funniest thing I’ve ever witnessed in a church and couldn’t help laughing.
Strangely, no one else did though. Even though the child clearly wasn’t old enough to talk, everyone seemed all a little embarrassed by the reference to the War.
Anyway, the second event was just a few weeks ago when we went to dinner with a couple of friends, one of whom is German.
I sat there all night racked in fear that I would say something about Hitler. You see I have a kind of Nazi Tourettes. I’m highly likely to mention them in any conversation that lasts over, ooh, 30 seconds or so. Regardless of how abstract the reference is. So being in the company of a German all but guaranteed to say something I would instantly regret.
It’s a Third Reich, faux-pas, tight-rope that I walk.
Anyway after sweating for an hour through our meal I finally gave in and made a comment about my wife’s brother’s testicle being in the Albert Hall (that one was in context but for the life of me I can’t remember how) and bit my tongue so hard I still have a slight swelling not to shout Hitler’s name during part of the conversation (again I can’t remember how but it would have been in context).
So, I feel a little uneasy about the new advert for the Citroen C5.
I presume that “Unmistakeably German” is actually referring to the build quality of the car. As German cars are built like panzas and go on relentlessly, mile after mile, never giving mercy to the tarmac, never breaking down. Plus the doors and switches all clunk and click in a way that satisfies you more then one of your neighbours capitulating after just a bit of sword rattling.
But to illustrate this point, Citroen have squeezed in every hackneyed, out-dated, and in some parts borderline offensive cliché about Germany that they could fit into 90 seconds:
Is it time we got over this whole stereotypical view of the world and starting thinking as if it is actually 2008?
Maybe not in Ad-Land…
Update
Well, it seems that a few other losers who care a bit too much have thought that this ad maybe portrays the Germans in a negative light.
The Commons motion reads: “This house notes with regret the stereotypes used by Citroen to market the new C5 as Unmistakably German, including imagery, symbolism and style reminiscent of the 1930s.
“[We believe] this is counterproductive to the reputation of Citroen and urge it to withdraw the advertisement.”
Good on you, MPs.
(4.7)
29Responses:
snooks
April 1st, 2008 12:08 pm
You’ve got to wonder exactly what they were thinking when they made this . . . no actual goose-stepping, though . . .
Dave
April 1st, 2008 1:32 pm
Makes you wonder how we’re portayed abroad? I dread to think.
brian
April 1st, 2008 3:19 pm
yes it really is pathetic. Must have been written by a complete fool.
Jonny Chestwig
April 1st, 2008 4:34 pm
I don’t know, I think it’s quite amusing, although you could see the denouement coming from a million miles away. National stereotyping is great fun and other countries do it just as much as we do, I think the German’s are probably grown up enough to take a little bit of banter.
I was disappointed by the lack of mulleted East Germans in 2-stripe tracksuits though.
Marsten
April 1st, 2008 11:27 pm
It’s playing WAGNER?
The same Wagner who had his music used in the nazi propaganda film ‘Triumph of the Will’?
The same exact SONG that they used in Apocalypse Now in order to make the American attack on that little defenceless Vietnam village seem even more morally dubious and comparable with said nazi propaganda film?
Is that REALLY the type of film they want to use here to represent Germany?
I mean, it seems a little bit senseless….
brian
April 2nd, 2008 12:30 pm
i quite agree, Marsten. What gits.
Silky
April 2nd, 2008 12:38 pm
Come on, Brian, no need to make fun of poor old Marsten there (and in such an underhanded way too).
Please stick to passing comments about the fools and gits who work for Euro RSCG.
God, I hate to be one of them, wouldn’t you Brian?
R E Krishna
April 2nd, 2008 1:00 pm
I wouldn’t have expected that anything so French as a Citroen would have any kind of German connection at all. Why the next thing you know there’ll be, say a pizza advert with Italian music playing, and in small writing at the foot of the screen it would say “made in Germany by Dr Oetker”. Oh for goodness sake, how ridiculous, that could never happen.
Jonny Chestwig
April 2nd, 2008 4:48 pm
I resent that comment Krishna, the good Herr Doktor Oetker is my next door neigbour in Florence.
R E Krishna
April 3rd, 2008 12:29 pm
I know, must apologize. You refer of course to Herr Doktor Giuseppe Oetker. As Italian as Sauerkraut.
_f
April 3rd, 2008 3:50 pm
It’s clearly ironic. The only way it could have been more ironic would have been if they’d had Hitler driving it or something. Or a sat-nav that only directs you to Poland.
Silky
April 3rd, 2008 8:28 pm
Apparently they made a more ironic one with someone who allegedly looks like Max Moseley driving the car…
brian
April 8th, 2008 2:42 pm
I quite agree Silky. What hapless buffoons.
Gina
April 8th, 2008 3:19 pm
I’m not even sure I understand the advert at all - surely it’s more insulting to the French for Citroen to advertise their car as being German?
It falls into the category of ‘adverts with unneccesarily and offensively loud music’.
Chris Kruger
April 10th, 2008 9:05 am
I don’t think it’s so bad. Everyone knows you can rib the Germans. All of the symbology, and music predates the War Period. It drops hints in a playful way but it’s only because the Evil ideology was gestated within German culture that we make that link at all. Most of my British friends are much more tasteless/less pc than you it seems.
Al
April 11th, 2008 4:53 pm
I think this is a “second degre” ad meant to make fun of silly cliche and flatter the viewers that get it into buying the car:
1. This ad makes fun of cliches and shows how ridiculous (and wrong) they are.
2. Including the cliche that German cars are better than French cars.
3. Indeed, French cars are more reliable than German cars (but Japanese cars beat them all): http://www.reliabilityindex.co.uk/top10.html?apc=3128339010848601
4. So disregard cliches and by a C5.
Mark
April 13th, 2008 10:51 am
When I saw this advert I was completely speechless. I thought the camera angles were superb, the acting and direction of the short was nothing far from brilliant. Insofar the content - well, I hit the roof. I grew up here in the UK but am German. I’ve had my fair share of abuse which I have taken on the chin. However, this advert is a new low. It’s tasteless, tacky and rude. I agree with the comment: “if they’d had Hitler driving it or something. Or a sat-nav that only directs you to Poland.” Very apt. If it would have been a black person and made to depict the poorer sections of a country now being able to afford a new car because they are of a different skin colour, then heads would have rolled. Not this, though. Germany is still being “abused” for what happened.
WE (this generation) didn’t do it, so bloody well let us be. We accept it, now let us move on for God’s sake.
Cheshirecat
April 15th, 2008 7:03 pm
I actually think it is an excellent ad! When ever anyone mentions Germany or German traditions the 2 world wars are usually mentioned afterwards… people grow up! modern day Berlin is much more tolerant than modern day london. (i am british and live in london) its really great that citron have the sense of humor to acknowledge that french cars mostly do not have the same build quality of german car manufacturers.
It has some stereotypes which, of course do not apply to modern day Germans. Does anyone who has seen this actually think Germans live in castles and fight with swords? it is a portrayal of a harmless stereotypes. no mention of anything to do with the first or second world war… surely the blind association of the German people with the natzi regime is!!! you people are more offensive than this ad by far! shoot me down but you know its true!
apart from that it has some great cinematography with excellently constructed piece of music, Ride of the Valkyries by Richard Wagner.
matt
April 16th, 2008 1:46 pm
i can’t belive some of the people on this page including the original author,
This advert is really good, its probably not the best advert in the world but it is far from the worst.
The camera angles are brilliant and the acting is suberb.
Another think to note is that most of the actors, crew, producers, directors are all german or have a major link to germany. If you think that this advert is produced to poke fun at the germans do you think that the crew would have worked on it. It was a german working with citroen who originally developed the idea.
The whole point of the sterotypes is to promote the car no to be racist to the germans. The car is clearly french as it is citroen, the advert labels it as unmistakably german as it is marketed as a well built car that will not break. Although this could be a marketing plot the advert is not intended to be racist.
Policitacal correctness is killing our society, all of the great comedy over the past century has been based on making fun of a person or group, it is not intended to be racist thus it is comedy. If we start to view everything in a PC way the world will be dead. I think that you should be ashamed of yourself to call this advert ‘one of the worst adverts on tv’.
if you had actually been to berlin you would have realised that this type of advert does not upset and it is talked as a good advert.
get a life and get out some more,
This advert is not racist, and is designed to be playful and in time you will see the error of your ways
Capucine
April 23rd, 2008 10:16 am
Hmmm I’m really not sure about the use of Wagner with its Riefenstahl overtones, but in essence I don’t think it’s a bad ad. It’s twee and knowing a few Germans, they don’t seem to mind it. But, I wonder which planner at Euro got away with the proposition of Unmistakeably German, when we all know that German reliability in the automotive world is on the slide and the French don’t have much to crow about in that area either; they should have swerved around that, I think. Do you see what I did there?
ben fegore
April 26th, 2008 1:34 am
Germans don’t mind having the piss taken out of them because for some reason even those who weren’t even born during nazi times feel strangely responsible for all that happened. What would you say as a German? Hey I am German, I never invaded Poland in my life and I will prove my sense of humour by laughing at any silly joke that you will throw at me!
It is a rubbish ad and most people who think it is ok to laugh at national stereotypes are probably hesitant to laugh at racist jokes.
But that is not why it is the worst.
The advert is ‘the worst’ (hey why not be funny and call it the wurst) because it is badly written.
It is OBVIOUS, appeals to the lowest commmon denomiator. Thereby probaby missing its target group of people who actually have enough money to buy the car.
I remember the last ad that tried to sell cars on the ‘german’ angle (’Britisher Architect’). Rover.
You remember Rover?They have disappeared completely since then.
If you want to sell a car dont use stereotypes unless you are Audi and sell cars to Brits.
‘Fortsprung durch Technik’ - excellent ads.
British Bullterrier
April 26th, 2008 2:09 am
Love the ad, how about a Mercedes Benz advert with a french surrender monkey driving into occupied Paris licking a few GESTAPO boots? That would amuse the people who don’t like politcal correctness surely. I would buy a car that had the guts to advertise like that.
Sam
April 27th, 2008 5:56 pm
what are people complaining about exactly?
this advert is brilliant, yes it plays on stereotypes - but that does not instantly mean we are going to return to the stone age
you seem to be getting excited over a little light hearted comedy
the advert is extremely funny, and it appeals to a wide audience - so just because it plays with a stereotype does not drag us back into the past at all, whilst it injects the idea of a smart,superior,powerful german people (hypodermic needle theory) the audience accepts it at face level - you’re making something out of nothing.
GTR
April 30th, 2008 8:56 pm
It appears Citroen have preverbably “shot” themselves in the foot with this “tacky” advert.
First of all its a put down to Citroen marketing the car as made in Germany.
Secondly it subconciously has the effect on the mind of portraying French cars as inadequate
hence the made in Germany portrail.
Thirdly the portrail of Germans in Nazi imagery is stupidity beyond words.
I have owned a German car and it was terrible
however i have met a few German people and they were extremely nice.
So to sum up Citroens PR have succeeded in causing unneccessary offence
and giving people a reason to buy German.
John Parker
April 30th, 2008 9:16 pm
What is a panza?
Jochen
May 3rd, 2008 2:32 pm
Well… I could laugh about it. But I am third generation past the War and thus gained some distance. The ad also plays with stereotypes not related to the War and the Third Reich, too. It also admits, that, although there are clichés on our past, there are also clichés on our thoroughness, reliability, and responsibility. I can understand, that some may feel a little offended, but as long as there are no svastikas, siegheiling (BTW, dear Blogger, it’s “Sieg Heil”, first the I, then the E in Sieg, the other way round in Heil) comrades with bald heads or brown uniforms and other fascist attitudes, I think, we Germans should cool down a little - there are a lot of jokes about Adolf Nazi in German, too.
BUT: That doesn’t mean you should disobey the “Don’t mention the War” -rule. You never know whom you are talking to, there are still people alive whose mothers were raped by Russian, French, British or US soldiers, there are some, who lost relatives in Auschwitz or Theresienstadt (like I did, for example), there are people who lost all they had in one night’s carpet bombing. You may speak about the War with care and with an historian’s eye, always asking for the story of your counterpart. And simply don’t make silly jokes.
Nick
May 3rd, 2008 3:44 pm
Why do we all take ourselves so seriously ! I’m english and we are represented in many stereotypical ways, and why not, we do funny things and behave in funny ways. The add is brilliant and it takes the micky out of the French as much as the Germans.
commenter
May 19th, 2008 9:07 pm
This is a good, well-made ad that pokes fun at stereotypes, but it seems that perhaps it’s pitched at a bit to intellek-chually high level for some of the offense-taking numpties posting here.
brian
May 20th, 2008 6:44 pm
i quite agree. such idiots.
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