"YES WHITE CAN" — yet another ad exploiting Barack Obama's 2008 catch-phrase. (Here's a previous one.)
Last month in Germany, Italian chocolate company Ferrero produced this political rally ad to promote their white chocolate kisses (called Küsschen). The German federal presidential election is this Sunday, where incumbent Angela Merkel and her 50 shades of pantsuits is expected to win reelection.
Here's a translation of the spot, via Martin Schneider at Dangerous Minds:
THE FERRERO BOX: "Dear friends! We all have one common wish, to make the country more delicious! We want white Ferrero kisses forever! And because friendship is no minor matter, we demand—white nut stay!"
CROWD: "White nut stay! White nut stay!"
VOICEOVER: "Germany votes white! White Ferrero kisses, now available forever!"
GERMANY VOTES WHITE.
Referencing racial purity in Deutschland, however unintentional, was not a smart move.
Fererro was trying to piggyback onto election fever — not a stupid strategy. American brands stumble over each other every four years to do the same thing.
According to Speigel Online, the white kisses were previously only available seasonally. This spot is an announcement ad trumpeting that they're now sold year round.
The commercial, which aired on German TV, was not received well.
Twitter users compared the ad to messages from the NPD, the far-right German party associated with the neo-Nazi movement Said one user, according to Speigel Online "Has Ferrero Weiss become the main sponsor of the NPD?" Another tweeted: "As of now, the NPD will be eating nothing but Ferrero Küsschen."
One commenter on the brand's Facebook page wrote: "I hope the advertisers behind this dumb campaign get a chocolate kiss stuck in their throats, and there aren't any Nazis around to dislodge it."
Ferrero has pulled the ad to "make changes."
Ad agency: M&C Saatchi.