Das Beste Oder Nichts: Drive A Daimler - Or Take A Hike

The Nikkei [sub] announces that Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz division is unleashing a global advertising campaign on the world, including a new advertising slogan and – while we are at it – a redesigned version of its three-pointed star. “Our claim has to reflect that we want to be the best in all disciplines,” said Mercedes-Benz sales chief Joachim Schmidt. And so their new global advertising slogan is …

“The best or nothing.”

Really. We are not making this up.

According to Schmidt, the campaign will be financed from Daimler’s existing marketing budget, which accounts for about 2 percent of the German automaker’s annual revenue, but declined to provide a specific figure. There will be a media split of 40 percent TV, 45 percent print, and 15 percent on-line.

I don’t know. Global campaigns rarely survive the test of times – local distributors, even company-owned sales organizations are quick to explain that there are massive cultural differences that necessitate a separate campaign. Like for Germany and Austria. Speaking of which …

And “The best or nothing?” Has a kind of, how shall we put it delicately, an early last century ring (1933-1945) to it. Like “Kanonen oder Butter” (cannons or butter), or “Du bist nichts, dein Volk ist alles” (you are nothing, the nation is everything.)

And lo and behold, we hear that “The best or nothing” is exactly the same slogan as Gottfried Daimler used in the early 1900’s. It had been unearthed as a Daimler- internal slogan in February that now somehow escaped into the wild. A month ago, it was announced in Germany. Now it’s going global.

Too bad Leni Riefenstahl has left us. She’d make a great director for the ads.