She wishes her teenage son didn't hang out at home all the time.
That he secretly sneaks out, that he lets school drag, celebrates parties, experiences his first excesses of alcohol.
And that he finally tells this girl that he loves her.
The mother, who sits with her son at the dining table in the evening in the new commercial “Der Wunsch” of the supermarket chain Penny (in the background the slowed melody of Bon Jovi's “It's my life” plays on the piano), just wants him to get his youth back.
Johanna Christner
Editor in the section “Germany and the World”.
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It is about everything that has been stolen from young people since the beginning of the pandemic. The almost four-minute long video, produced by the Serviceplan agency, squeezes many tear glands in the run-up to Christmas, and it has now reached more than six million views on YouTube. In the comment column below, moved mothers write that the commercial made them cry.
“During Corona you weren't able to have a lot of experiences. We want to give you back a piece of your youth and give away 5000 unforgettable experiences, ”it says at the end of the video, among other things, trips and parties will be raffled. It is not just about pure charity, but above all about money. The marketing industry has been complaining about so-called advertising blindness for years. The term is intended to mean that consumers are difficult to reach through traditional advertising and hardly pay any attention to them. In the digital channels, advertisers therefore rely on methods such as influencer marketing and online advertising - but Internet advertisements are often neutralized by ad blockers.
Another method that has been successful online and offline for years: the excessive use of feelings. Advertisers believe in emotional communication strategies as the values and attitudes behind a brand become increasingly important to consumers. And the emotional bond with companies leads to purchase decisions. In the contemplative pre-Christmas season, this credo is especially true. Appeals like “greed is cool” only work with smaller target groups. It is no longer just what is cheap or beautiful that counts, but increasingly also what is authentic.
The images used are decisive for successful emotional advertising. They have to tell a story, be symbolic and pay special attention to facial expressions, gestures and posture. Emotional topics such as inequality, inspiration and fate come to mind - and it must be quickly clear what the advert is about. Because it is important to attract the viewer's attention in just a few seconds. Emotional music and protagonists with identification potential are also helpful in order to increase the empathy factor. All of these factors are met by the supermarket chain's Christmas campaign, which was previously known for straight-forward slogans such as “First to Penny”.
However, the clip cannot do without any shortcomings. In the comment column on Youtube you can also read criticism - namely of the German corona policy. Sometimes Penny is awarded better political leadership skills than the federal government, which is supposed to rob people of their youth without conscience and empathy. Anti-vaccination opponents also like the clip, as they see Penny going into battle against allegedly manipulating corona powers. Because: The short advertising film leaves it completely open who is to blame when young people in the pandemic have to forego their first kiss, their first lovesickness and their first club visits. Is it the corona virus? The unvaccinated? Or a failing German government? The elaborately produced film is silent on this.He accepts grist to the mill of those who oppose vaccination - for the sake of the clicks.