With this year's Christmas film, PENNY wants to set an example against the divisions in society. PENNY COO Stefan Görgens explains in the one_Interview why it is important to enter into dialogue with one another.
The PENNY Christmas film "The Wish" from last year caused an incredible wave of reactions. It received the highest honour at the international creative festival in Cannes. With the theme of the film - young people during the coronavirus pandemic - PENNY struck a chord with the public. This year, PENNY is once again putting its finger in the wound and tackling a socially relevant topic.
In an Allensbach survey in January 2022, 62 per cent of respondents said they were concerned that the situation in Europe and the world was becoming increasingly unpredictable. The growing gap between rich and poor worries 59 per cent. And 56 per cent of respondents said they were concerned that our society is becoming increasingly divided. On 24 February, Russian troops attacked Ukraine. Germany is clearly feeling the economic and social consequences of the war. This is also confirmed by a representative survey by infratest dimap / ARD published on 7 October as part of the current ARD theme week "We wanted - What holds us together?". Almost two thirds of respondents (64 per cent) rate social cohesion as "rather poor" or "very poor".
Signs against polarisation
"With this year's Christmas film, we are addressing this deep insecurity. There is an increasing rift in our society. Division is increasing, talking to each other is decreasing. With its atmosphere, the film makes a targeted statement against this polarisation. We want to encourage people to start talking and listening to each other again," says Stefan Görgens, COO PENNY, in the run-up to the film's release on 10 November. PENNY is thus continuing its policy of addressing highly topical and controversial issues in its Christmas films and encouraging people to think, Görgens continued.
Proven courage for a painful topic
Christoph Everke, Creative Director of Serviceplan Campaign, adds: "We have loaded our Christmas film with cultural themes that really no one can ignore. Opinions clash and literally cause an entire apartment block to break apart. The topics are portrayed so ruthlessly and taken from real life that many people feel caught out. It gives you goosebumps, a certain unease and hopefully makes you rethink. I am deeply impressed by the way in which Seb Edwards and Anorak have brought our idea to life - and by the courage that the PENNY team has once again shown in making a painful, but especially at Christmas so important, topic their own."
Digital extension of the campaign
The digital extension of the campaign seamlessly picks up on the idea of dialogue and makes it a reality. In cooperation with the Forum für Streitkultur and with additional information material from the Initiative Offene Gesellschaft, the landing page provides ten specific tips for constructive discussions. In addition, influencer and presenter Jonas Ems will use his high-reach social media channels TikTok and YouTube to draw attention to the film's conflict topics and how we encounter them in everyday life from the film's release.
one: Mr Görgens, PENNY's new Christmas film has just been released. What is it about?
Stefan Görgens: Our Christmas film this year - it's deliberately not a Christmas film - deals with the many cracks that run through our society. Corona, war, the climate and inflation are putting a strain on people, but are also leading to divisions in our society. We want to draw attention to this, combined with an appeal to talk to each other again. Dialogue and tolerance are the foundation of our society.
one: Okay. But isn't the film far too pessimistic in its atmosphere?
Stefan Görgens: The film certainly has an unsparing visual language. Nevertheless, the film shows the protagonists in their vulnerability. We don't accuse them. We don't whitewash anything. We symbolically show the dark clouds over our country. But we also show that we have at least some of the solution in our own hands: Two people who were shouting at each other minutes before experience the positive feeling when they approach each other. That also conveys optimism.
one: Is it PENNY's job to highlight and even admonish social developments?
Stefan Görgens: For years, we at PENNY have had the courage to address controversial social issues. This is not least a way of showing that we act responsibly. Our film "The Wish" from last year caused an incredible wave of reactions . In terms of figures, we have 13 million customer contacts per week. We know what moves and burdens people. We show this without pointing fingers or moralising.
one: But after the film, the Christmas spirit is certainly at rock bottom.
Stefan Görgens: I'm not so sure about that. I think it's more likely that families will talk about it. Perhaps even controversially. But that's what we're all about - dialogue. That's another reason why we encourage customers and our employees to engage in dialogue. We provide practical tips and suggestions.
"Der Riss" can be seen from 10 November on the PENNY YouTube, Facebook and Instagram channels and will also be shown in full length in German cinemas.
Is Christmas the time for feel-good stories and escapism in advertising? In the new episode of the podcast "Horizont Lovebrands", PENNY Head of Marketing Marcus Haus explains why he has no problem turning polarising topics such as the rift in society into a campaign message, even at the "most wonderful time of the year". Listen now at Podigee: https://lovebrands.podigee.io/53-new-episode
Both German and English comments appear here.
a great clip that shows where we often find ourselves as a society. Touching but not maudlin, brutal and human at the same time. Thank you for this emotional wake-up call, which hopefully triggers courage and confidence as well as consternation and allows us to come closer together again.
The clip knocks me out emotionally. Thank you so much for shaking us up and questioning our own behaviour!!!