Skewered: Unbreakably stupid

I'm not stupid!" is what every advertiser would like to claim. But Media Markt was quicker and has been using this catchy slogan for years. You may or may not like such blatant advertising. The fact is that the claim works, because all consumers want to be "not stupid" - and so the whole world shops at Media Markt. A pleasant side effect is that there is hardly anyone who doesn't know the claim, and no one who couldn't relate it to the electronics giant. Advertising can't get any better than this. And not really either.

Nevertheless, Media Markt thinks it can now, as a Christmas present, so to speak, be a new slogan. That's courageous, especially when something has worked well. But courage is only the first step. After all, how can you cleverly follow up on a claim that has really taken off? The solution is: Don't reinvent it, but cleverly reformulate it. And this is how it works: Media Markt is linked to "not stupid. And if you're "not stupid," you're - of course - "not stupid. Of course, you could also say "smart", "clever" or "clever". That would even be more correct. With one drawback: "Stupid" does not appear in it. So now it's logical to say: "The world belongs to the stupid!" and "The stupid want more power for less money at Christmas. An absurdity? Quite the opposite. Media Markt has not only found a way to further compose its message, "unblöd" is also entitled to be voted word of the year - or rather un-word. Although this thing with power and money is a completely insubstantial statement (right, you'd already forgotten?!), it's still suddenly much better to be "unblöd" instead of just "nicht blöd". Only advertising can do that.

A good imitation is half the battle

Media Markt is, of course, not the first company to try to be remembered with the help of a grammatical rule violation. Coca-Cola's "unkaputtbar", which accompanied the introduction of the plastic bottle from 1990 to 1992, is unforgettable. It remains to be seen whether Media Markt has managed a similar feat with "unblöd". But in any case, the company can continue its brand and advertising strategy for a while longer. Which is certainly not stupid. Competitor Conrad with its uninspired "Hohohol Dir die coole Technik!" looks pretty old next to it. Spirit (= dumb) is cool, indestructible and undead after all.

Besides, the fact that the world belongs to the stupid gives us a little hope. And we can all use that, just before Christmas.