Avarice is cool

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“Avarice is cool” was an advertising slogan of the electronics retail chain Saturn in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and other European countries. It was used from October 2002 as part of a long-running advertising campaign in print media, radio and television. From December 2011 Saturn used a different advertising slogan.

Logo with slogan

campaign

The slogan was created by Constantin Kaloff from the Hamburg advertising agency Jung von Matt . The melody of the promotional song is based on Opus' number 1 hit Live Is Life from 1985. In the Netherlands the slogan "greedy maakt gelukkig" ("greedy makes you happy") was used; in Belgium “Greedy is plezierig”, in Spain “La avaricia me vicia”, in France “Plus radin, plus malin” (for example: the stingier, the smarter).

In May 2007, Saturn announced that it would soon end the campaign. The reason given for this was a shift in focus on the part of the consumer: quality and service played a greater role again. Marketing experts found this statement to be well founded; the motto has outlived itself. The slogan used from October 2007 was “We love technology. We hate expensive. ” - only a few weeks later shortened to “ We hate expensive. ” In Austria and Switzerland the“ greed is cool ”slogan was used even longer.

At the beginning of 2011, in the anniversary year of its 50th anniversary, Saturn's original slogan was resumed in the slightly modified version “Geil is cool!”. The new slogan was presented in TV and radio advertising by the well-known US boxing announcer Michael Buffer . The melody of the commercial was still based on the title "Live is Life" by the music group Opus.

Saturn has been using the advertising slogan “Soo! must be technology! ".

meaning

Although the slogan was not perceived as particularly original or funny in Germany, it received a lot of attention in 2004 because it sparked a discourse in many German media. He reflected part of the German zeitgeist and named a tendency in German consumer behavior , in which the purchase price of a product counted, while features such as quality , longevity, range of functions, operating costs , service in specialist shops or production conditions in the manufacturing countries took a back seat. The tendency of many buyers to only pay attention to the purchase price led to the term “greed is cool mentality”.

criticism

Germany

The Nuremberg Chamber of Commerce criticized the mentality outlined by the slogan “Avarice is cool”, which represented excessive frugality by German buyers, especially private consumers. This would lead to increased price competition between manufacturers and dealers, which would lead to aggressive market policy, dumping prices and ruinous competition . Small and medium-sized specialist dealers and specialist workshops in particular could not defend themselves against the pressure of competition. Discounters, wholesale markets and providers from outside the industry use their market power over manufacturers and major suppliers to buy on more favorable terms and pass this price advantage on to customers. The so-called “greed is cool” mentality was not only widespread in the end customer business. Manufacturers and wholesalers, too, often found themselves exposed to ruinous price competition and seemed to find no other answer than trying to win and / or keep customers with discounts. German and foreign suppliers are being put under pressure to lower their prices. Quality problems and the increasing spread of cheap, low-quality products were also associated with the “greed is cool” mentality in Germany.

Critics from the religious communities in Germany and especially from the Catholic Church accused Saturn of portraying avarice as positive with the advertising campaign and pointed out that avarice is a motive for sins. In Catholic Christianity, greed is one of the seven main vices . In 2004 the Catholic aid organization Adveniat started a campaign “Avarice is godless”.

Austria

In Austria the motto was changed at short notice. In the commercial you can see a kind of re-enactment of the presentation of the Austrian State Treaty to the population by Leopold Figl . The little Saturn man is standing on the balcony like Figl back then, holding a Saturn advertising brochure in his hands and shouting loudly to the applause of the people Austria is cool! Due to massive complaints that a German company was degrading a significant event in Austrian history, the old slogan was once again greed is cool! used. The slogan was repeatedly criticized in Austria by high religious dignitaries such as Cardinal Christoph Schönborn or the Upper Austrian Governor Josef Pühringer , as it was not compatible with the values ​​of the church or the social market economy .

Spain

In Spain, Saturn uses an analogous translation of the slogan, although the term cool is rarely used colloquially. The saying is translated as “la avaricia me vicia”, whereby viciar is an ambiguous verb so that the saying can be understood as “Avarice spoils me” or “Avaricia burdens me” and acts as a commercial breakdown. However, since Saturn only has nine branches in the country, the retail chain's advertising is hardly noticeable.

attachment

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b "Soo! Muss Technik": consumer electronics chain Saturn starts the Christmas business with a new advertising campaign ( memento of the original dated December 23, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed May 24, 2013  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.presseportal.de
  2. ↑ Discount campaigns - Avarice is no longer cool in retail at derwesten.de , accessed on May 24, 2013
  3. ↑ Saturn and Technology - A Brief Love. designtTagebuch.de, January 3, 2008, accessed on July 31, 2014 .
  4. ↑ Cornelia Krause: Saturn thinks: Switzerland is cool at tagesanzeiger.ch
  5. ↑ Consumer Climate - Is Stinginess Still Cool? on the website of the IHK Nuremberg , accessed on May 24, 2013
  6. ↑ "Why Avarice Is Wicked"; Deutsche HandwerksZeitung 7. IV. 06
  7. ↑ geizistgottlos.de ( Memento of the original from December 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.geizistgottlos.de
  8. ↑ saturn.es ( Memento of the original dated November 11, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Advertising page  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.saturn.es

literature

Web links