Laut Gegen Nazis – Rights Against the Right: trademarks against nazi codes

For too long, the Nazi scene has been using codes and abbreviations to bypass bans and spread their racist ideology. They codified “HAKENKREUZ” (Swastika) into “HKNKRZ”, “HITLER” into “HTLR” and “VATERLAND” (Fatherland) into “VTRLND”. A big problem! These codes, printed on shirts and merchandise, are the main source of income for right-wing organisations. And a way to spread their racist believes.

Where lawmakers had been incapable of acting with bans, we found a legal hack for our client and NGO Laut gegen Nazis. It put an end to the spread of Nazi codes for the first time ever: by using trademark law. The campaign, which outsmarts Nazis, has been a phenomenal success for the NGO: Gaining global press coverage and more than 2.2 billion media impressions without any media budget.

We’ve come up with a world first approach to stop the spread of Nazi codes once and for all. We secured the trademark rights for the best-selling German and international Nazi-Codes at the European Trademark office. As the rightful owners of these trademarked codes, we can force Nazi shops to destroy the merch bearing these codes. And even claim compensation for each sale.

The trending number-one news podcast “Apokalypse & Filterkaffee” dedicated an episode. Major German news outlets like Süddeutsche Zeitung, SPIEGEL, STERN, and ZDF reported and published articles. Our idea spread rapidly in Germany and globally.

The campaign played a crucial role in reshaping public perception of hateful Nazi messages. Prompted by the numerous articles, we saw a staggering 630% increase in searches related to the NGO and Nazi Codes. We reached over 117 million users online. Donations increased massively by 687%, while donations in Germany in general have dropped by over 30%.

AWARDS

Cannes Lions 2024

• Silver in Direct
• Silver in Creative Strategy
• Bronze in Brand Experience & Activation
• Bronze in PR
• Bronze in Sustainable Development Goals
• Shortlisted in the Dan Wieden Titanium category

CREDITS

Brand: Laut gegen Nazis. Advertising Agency: Jung von Matt AG, Hamburg. Design Agency: Jung von Matt AG, Hamburg. Production Companies: 02100 Digital, Redgert Comms, Sehsucht Berlin.

Agency Producer: Julia Cramer. Art Directors: Carina Hoffmann, Dennis Mayerhöffer, Dijk Maarten, Lena Pitzl, Svenja Jelen. Artists: Anne Dolkemeyer, Philipp Brates, Quinten Delahaye. Copywriters: Andreas Stanitzek, Christian Zschunke, Daniel Antonius, Katharina Boll, Leo Romanski, Leon Novakovic, Luisa Eesmann, Saskia Kretzschmann. Creative Directors: Christian Woelky, Sarah Buggle. Director of Development: Cedrik Dudek. Executive Creative Directors: Jan Harbeck, Simon Knittel. Motion Designer: Bruno Terenzi. Videographer: Özden Uzun. Web Developer: Sergio Gancedo. Agency Project Managers: Clarissa Nagel, Katja Saupe, Laurina Pettke. Communications Strategy Director: Dominic Bueker. Data Strategist: Maik Knackstedt. PR Account Executive: Tilmann Rohlf. PR Executive: Stanij Wicaz. Producer: Markus Trautmann. Senior Project Manager: Julian Schnute.