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Entrant: Jung von Matt, Hamburg
Brand: Laut gegen Nazis
Title: "Rights Against the Right - The First Trademark That Stops Trading Nazi Merch."
Corporate Name of Client: Laut gegen Nazis
Client Company: Laut gegen Nazis e.V., Hamburg
Client: Joern Menge
PR Company: Redgert Comms, Berlin
PR Company Account Executive: Tilmann Rohlf
PR Company Business Director: Stanij Wicaz
Agency: Jung von Matt, Hamburg
Chief Creative Officers: Daniel Schaefer/Szymon Rose
Executive Creative Director: Simon Knittel
Creative Directors - Art: Christian Woelky/Elena Knittelfelder
Creative Director - Copy: Sarah Buggle
Senior Copywriters: Daniel Antonius/Andreas Stanitzek
Copywriter: Katharina Boll
Senior Art Directors: Carina Hoffmann/Svenja Jelen
Art Directors: Dennis Mayerhöffer/Maarten Dijk/Lena Pitzl
Agency Executive Producer: Julia Cramer
Agency Editors: Dirk Wandersee/Özden Uzun
Agency Motion Designer: Bruno Terenzi
Agency Project Managers: Clarissa Nagel/Katja Saupe/Laurina Pettke
Agency Managing Director: Jan Harbeck
Agency Planning Director: Dominic Bueker
Agency Planner: Maik Knackstedt
Digital Company: 02100 Digital, Hamburg
Digital Director: Cedrik Dudek
Digital Producer: Julian Schnute
Digital Technical Developer: Sergio Gancedo
Production Company: Sehsucht Berlin, Berlin
Producer: Markus Trautmann
Lead Artists: Philipp Brates/Quinten Delahaye/Anne Dolkemeyer/Leon Novakovic/Leo Romanski/Luisa Eesmann/Saskia Kretzschmann/Christian Zschunke

Description:
Together with our client Laut gegen Nazis e.V. we’ve come up with a new, innovative and world-first approach to stop the spread of Nazi codes once and for all. It’s hacking the legal system that right-wing extremists have been using to their advantage for way too long.

We secured the trademark rights for the best-selling German and international Nazi-Codes at the European Trademark office. As new rightful owners, we can force Nazi shops to destroy the merch bearing these codes and claim compensation for each item sold. This groundbreaking idea has had a 2.2 Billion media reach without any budget.

The extreme right have been concealing their hateful ideas through coded messages. Codes – used in place of explicit far-right terms – mean lawmakers are incapable of banning their use. Giving Nazis the opportunity to use them on merchandise such as t-shirts and sweaters to finance the movement.

Most Nazi symbols, signs and words have long been banned in Germany and other European countries. However, the Nazi scene has been bypassing bans for just as long: with its own codes and abbreviations. So the banned word "HAKENKREUZ" (Swastika) became "HKNKRZ", "HITLER" became "HTLR" and "VATERLAND" (Fatherland), "VTRLND" – rendering all bans pretty powerless.

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. A challenge that lawmakers have not yet risen to and one that is becoming more and more urgent with the political shift to the far right in Germany and Europe.

Our client, "Laut gegen Nazis" (Noise against Nazis), is a nonprofit organisation that stands against the spread of extreme-right wing violence and hate across Germany and Europe. Our brief was to create awareness for the NGO, boost donations and educate people on existing Nazi codes and abbreviations.

The briefing resulted in a world-first approach to effectively stop the spread of extremist ideologies and hate.

The idea: Outsmarting Nazis by securing their codes with trademark law, and revoking the rights of Nazi online shops to use them.

Together with Laut gegen Nazis, we secured trademark rights for German and international Nazi codes at the European trademark office. As the new rightful owners of these trademarks, we can now bring Nazi shops to justice for the first time ever. By compelling them to remove and destroy the merch bearing these codes and claiming compensation for each item sold.

More and more of these trademarks will be published to create PR buzz for our campaign. We introduced our smart idea to our audience with a film and a website, optimised for press and social media. It is designed to engage our audience and encourage them to take part through donations.

Our launch was supported by a press meeting on day one, followed by a range of press interviews and an extensive press release. Simultaneously, we launched a film and a website.

Our idea was swiftly picked up and featured by crucial German news outlets like Spiegel, Süddeutsche Zeitung and even ZDF and shared via X (Twitter). Media outlets worldwide picked up on the campaign, from top-tier online publishers to international press. Social media accounts, both big and small, featured it and brought it to millions of users who liked, shared, and discussed the campaign. The results are huge, considering no money was spent on PR. Ultimately, all reach occurred organically.

Our campaign managed to strategically make Nazi codes part of the mainstream public discourse. We ignited a strong and pervasive conversation and played a pivotal role in reshaping the public perception of Nazi merchandise featuring repulsive ideologies. The media reach spanned a colossal 2.2 billion people. Online we reached impressive 117 million. Fostering an active engagement of 176,000, our campaign has masterfully orchestrated an unparalleled wave of awareness for our client, Laut gegen Nazis.

The impact manifests in a staggering 630% surge in searches related to the NGO and Nazi codes. Donations have increased by a massive 687%. We have achieved this while Germany is going through a general decrease in charity donations, which plummeted by over 30%. To summarise, our results have vastly exceeded the expectations set by our client.