2. Germans and Germany as Object of Admiration
2.4 Endorsements and Celebrities
Prominent and famous people are not a rarity in advertising. As discussed above, they can lend positive associations to otherwise less attractive or indistinguishable products. While the most common of such endorsements are made in the fashion and beauty business, celebrities are employed to advertise almost any product, no matter how weak the connection may be. Oxoby argues that such product advocacies result from different viewing habits:
In fact, a 1994 poll suggested that up to 74 percent of Americans switched channels during commercials, and that 50 percent occasionally muted the sound during them. One solution was to give viewers something they would actually want to watch, regardless of the fact that it was selling to them. Naturally, then, nothing seemed better for the
advertising industry than a celebrity.313
While this may be a reason why celebrity endorsements have been on the increase, they are hardly a new phenomenon. Prominent persons were already a common image on trade cards.314 Even famous German persons have given their seal of approval, as two ads from the turn of the century demonstrate. In the first one from 1894, Mellin’s Food is promoted by the German royal family (Emperor Wilhelm II., his first wife Auguste-Viktoria, and seven children), referred to as “Our Loving Friends,” of whom a picture is presented. The ad explains why German royalty should be concerned about this product: “The empress of Germany certifies that Mellin’s Food has been used with the best results in rearing German Princes.” To prove this claim, a “Fac-simile of testimonial received from Her Majesty the Empress of Germany” is presented at the bottom.315 Another, a 1910 advertisement for Sanatogen, claims that “Physicians to Royalty Endorse the Sovereign Food Tonic.” Several photos of European rulers are shown, those of the “King of Italy,” “the “Emperor of Austria,” the “Czar of Russia,” “King Edward
313 Oxoby 51.
314 For example the German William I. (W. Duke Sons & Co. “The Rulers, Flags, Coats of Arms - Image 14,”
advertisement, 1888 (Emergence of Advertising in America: 1850-1920. Item number: D0007-14.
<http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/eaa/tobacco> 22 February 2005).)
315 Edgar R. Jones, Those Were the Good Old Days: A Happy Look at American Advertising, 1880-1950 (New York:
Simon and Schuster, 1979) 53.
IV,” the “King of Saxony,” and the “Late Emperor Frederick.” Below the portraits, quotes from each ruler’s physician are printed, which all praise the benefits of the tonic.316 This technique differs a bit as it is the physicians commenting on the rulers’ health and not a direct endorsement by the rulers. The basic underlying principle, however, which is still at work in today’s celebrity advertisements, is the suggestion that if more powerful, important, prominent, and richer people use a product, it must also be better for the average consumer. Indeed, it is suggested that the consumer may rise to the same level of the endorser simply by purchasing the same product ostensibly used by the celebrity.
These early examples are intriguing because they show German royalty, thus representing monarchy and the feudal system. This sharp contrast to American ideals of democracy, liberty, and independence, is a paradox only at the first glance. Appeal, as has been previously discussed, can also result from the absent and the Other. It is the lack of something that creates desire, a gap often filled by advertising but also other forms of popular culture. Glamorous, idealized, and romanticized depictions of Germany’s feudal and monarchic past are found in a broad variety of advertisements, a point further analyzed below in analyses of fairy tales and castles.
The use of German celebrities in American advertising, however, is scarce; Albert Einstein and fashion models, which are dealt with here, exemplify the scope and effects of this particular aspect of advertising. Albert Einstein, who was born in southern Germany and emigrated from Germany to the United States after the Nazis came to power, is an icon in popular culture and is widely used in advertising. His appeal stems from several factors: he was an initially unrecognized genius and a promoter of pacifism and world peace, he transcends national boundaries, and has a very distinctive physical appearance. In fact, his story is a classic example of the American dream. Albert Einstein is recognized as a German-born immigrant to the United States and thus makes him an interesting ‘spokesperson’ for Germany. Totten sees him as a counterpart to the German evil: “Gleichzeitig wurde Albert Einstein für Amerika zum Prototyp der Flucht des Geistes vor Hitlers Ungeist.”317 He functions as a connector between the two countries as a symbol of hope and peace. Therefore he is an appealing figure for advertisers of German products or German-American hybrid companies.
316 Jones 188.
317 Totten, 58.
The following two advertisements attest how versatile he is for advertisers. The brewer Löwenbräu uses Einstein’s fame and brilliancy for its goals: “In his attempt to improve upon Löwenbräu’s formula for the best way in the world to brew beer, Albert stumbled upon another formula.”318 The drawing shows Einstein in front of an enormous blackboard, which is full of notes and calculations, such as “Beer is relative; Time is nothing; Beer is universal; Beer is Boss.” His deliberations on the board of course lead to the formula he is mostly known for:
“E=mc2.” The ad is humorous because it presents beer as something grand and important, more so in fact than the theory of relativity. Einstein is shown as the slightly nutty professor (he
“stumbles”), who is apparently looking for a beer formula and discovers something groundbreaking through that. Löwenbräu uses Einstein as a trigger for the country-of-origin effect and a scenario that viewers can relate to because it shows a human, less serious side of science. In a print advertisement for Nikon cameras, Einstein is contrasted to Moe, one of the Three Stooges, each with a camera. Showing Einstein as the opposite of the Stooges, who are notoriously brainless and short-witted, reveals how the public generally sees him: as a genius, as an expert. Together they represent two extremes in pop culture, allowing the average person to place oneself somewhere inbetween the two. Thus, Nikon’s message is that its product is fit for anyone, for beginners to amateurs to professionals, and any viewer feels addressed inbetween the two poles: “Nikon introduces the camera for both.”319 As positive as Einstein’s image is, it is also limiting. Emphasizing genius and technological savvy automatically cancels out other traits.
The focus on technology, even though represented through this human, positive figure, is yet again reinforced.
Two German models frequently seen in commercials and advertisements are Heidi Klum and Claudia Schiffer. While known to be from Germany, they are international figures in the borderless fashion world. In their ads they are generally not distinguishable from models of other nationalities,320 but it has to be assumed that many viewers do know the origin of at least the more famous models. Triggers concerning the nationality are rare and subtle, as Heidi Klum’s short “Auf Wiedersehen.”321 German female celebreties such as these two, but also prominent
318 Löwenbräu, advertisement, (Lürzer’s Archive Online Services. Reference number: [4.8711].
<http://www.luerzersarchive.net> 12 January 2005).
319 Advertisement in: Esther Thorson, Advertising Age: The Principles of Advertising at Work (Lincolnwood, IL:
NTC Business Books, 1989) 191.
320 E.g.: Gap “The Pants of Fall – Gapstretch 1,” advertisement, 2003.
321 Victoria's Secret “Most Important,” advertisement, 2004.
figures like Marlene Dietrich322, who connect Germany and the United States, can have a positive impact on the generally passive or absent image of German women, which is further analyzed below: they can truly break through stereotypes and show that Germans, too, can be smart, strong, sexy, witty, creative, disobedient, and peaceful.