Hornbach testimonial Ai Weiwei and the "Nazi club
The artist Ai Weiwei has recently started advertising for the German DIY chain Hornbach, where he sells high-visibility vests as art. But shortly before the launch of the campaign, Weiwei rails against everything German - and accuses the country in which he found refuge of blanket Nazism. The daily press reacts furiously, the agency and individual trade media celebrate nonetheless. A critical commentary.
It is an interesting spectacle that happened in Berlin on Tuesday: Artist Ai Weiwei invited to his studio to present a "soft sculpture". Orange high-visibility vests, connected by their zippers, are his latest work. But it's not just museums or millionaire art collectors who are to enjoy the "Safety Jackets Zipped The Other Way," but also ordinary consumers. After all, the basic materials needed to construct the sculpture can be purchased cheaply at any home improvement store run by the German chain Hornbach.
Hornbach already drew attention to itself in 2018 with a DIY campaign when Customers were able to recreate the Bauhaus chair by designer Sigurd Larsen with products from the DIY store. Ai Weiwei provides the instructions for the installation, as well as the unctuous word that every buyer participates in a "democratization of art. And the assembled trade press celebrates the supposed coup: From a "of the most extraordinary campaigns of the year with the most extraordinary testimonial ever", is spoken; "one of those campaigns that will set standards in German advertising". is said elsewhere.
Chinese artist and dissident Ai Weiwei in front of his DIY project "Safety Jackets Zipped The Other Way." Image: Hornbach.
The campaign has a testimonial problem
In the process, the relevant media are concealing something that the German daily newspapers are pointing out all the more clearly: The Zurich agency Neutral, which came up with the idea for the campaign (Hornbach's parent agency Heimat Berlin helped with the practical implementation), has chosen an extremely problematic testimonial in Ai Weiwei. The Chinese dissident is to advertise a DIY chain, a kind of original German authority, but only a few days ago he made very controversial comments about the Federal Republic.
In an interview with the British Guardian, he dropped sentences like the following: "Germans love to be oppressed - they find that comfortable." Or: "You may be wearing different suits today. Not quite like those of 1930, but still with the same function. Germans identify with the cult of the authoritarian." His remarks culminated in the conclusion that "Nazism is pervasive in Germany."
Not completely wrong, but imprecise
Now, this is in no way intended to give the impression that Ai Weiwei's statements lack any foundation. In Germany, the rise of the right-wing populist AfD, among others, shows a tendency for at least parts of the population to adopt right-wing conservative ideas ("Fun Fact": With the chairwoman of the AfD, Alice Weidel, Weiwei nevertheless blithely shot selfies).
But - this must also be said - this is a minority. Ai Weiwei must have enjoyed pure cosmopolitanism in his Berlin studio and in his everyday life in the capital, which welcomed him warmly after his flight from China. However, this does not prevent him from lumping an entire nation together. And - here's the contradiction, the punch line of the Hornbach ad - at the same time opening both hands to generous advertising revenues.
Now if Federer were to insult the Japanese...?
Just imagine Roger Federer standing in front of the cameras in Tokyo, announcing his sponsorship deal with Uniqlo - and then saying in the same breath that he doesn't really like Japan at all. The culture, the people there, it was all repugnant to him. True: Federer would have too much style to do something like that. Or to even accept endorsements that he doesn't stand behind. That's why he's a safe bet as a testimonial.
Ai Weiwei, on the other hand, and this is bad luck for Neutral, Heimat and Hornbach, has no trouble selling his art for advertising - and at the same time devaluing the country in which the advertising is played out. Of course, most people should enjoy the artist's big name, no doubt "Safety Jackets Zipped The Other Way" will find plenty of grateful takers. Just like when Karl Lagerfeld produced clothes for H&M.
But at least from the trade press, from those journalists who earn their money by writing about advertising, one must be allowed to expect criticism of this testimonial. And it must be disconcerting that the majority of reporters - just for the sake of the famous name - simply blindly join in the jubilation about the Hornbach campaign.
