Today, 7 December 2021, brands are changing their slogans to a vaccination call for action in Germany. This way they are taking responsibility for the COVID-19 crisis. The media partner is, remarkably, Bild Zeitung.
The fourth big wave that is hitting Europe at the moment calls for solidarity and a joint effort to convince everyone of the need for vaccination. The German lead agency for Mercedes-Benz, antoni, orchestrated the biggest vaccination campaign in the country.
“Brands have influence and reach. So why not use both to convey the message that our own vaccination is the best way out of the pandemic for all of us,” says Sven Dörrenbächer, Managing Partner of Antoni. “We are overwhelmed by the huge response and would like to thank everyone who has participated in our vaccination initiative.”
A new wave of solidarity
Although boosting is finally picking up speed in many countries, we face the same difficulties everywhere: there are still millions of vaccine skeptics in Europe. The announced compulsory vaccination in Germany will probably heighten rather than dispel their concerns.
That is why a new wave of solidarity is needed – similar to the one in spring 2020, when everyone pulled together and stayed at home. Only now it’s about vaccination. There have been isolated advances in this direction by various agencies and brands. But never before has there been a concerted action that has reached a comparable dimension as antoni’s current campaign.
The list of participating brands reads like a who’s who of the German economy. Among others are AOK, Burger King, BMW, DEVK, Douglas, Edeka, Henkel, Hornbach, Lidl, McDonald’s, Mercedes-Benz, Netto, Sparkasse, Toom and Volksbanken included. Big international brands, German car brands Vodafone and many local German brands, like Douglas: „Come impf and find out“.
The idea for this came up spontaneously at the Berlin agency just ten days ago and within a few days it picked up speed. Large German companies and brands are jointly calling for vaccinations and on December 7th they will all change their known claims at the same time (8.30 AM).
#zusammengegencorona
With the hashtag #zusammengegencorona the brands make their slogans and claims available for the good cause. The result is funny and sensible creations like: “Auf diese Impfung können Sie bauen” , “Impfen: Da weiß man, was man hat”, “Willst du viel, impf mit Stil”, “Es gibt immer was zu impfen”., “Wir impfen uns den Weg frei”, „Impfen. What else?“.
“The current situation of the pandemic is a burden for all of us,” emphasizes Philipp Kluck, Managing Director of Iglo Germany (“Komm’ an Bord zum Impfen”). “Ultimately, it’s about survival – as a person, but also as a company. Most of them kept their distance and were careful. However, the current figures show that that’s not enough. The best chance is to significantly increase the vaccination rate.”
Bild Zeitung was brought on board as a media partner. The Springer-brand will put a double-sided advertisement in Bild and B.Z. and ads on Bild.de. This is surprising if only because the newspaper editors do not always present themselves as cooperative and neutral partners of politics in the fight against the pandemic.
