Allgemein

16 Kontakte bis Januar 2006

Konnte man sich seit einigen Tagen auf www.du-bist-deutschland.de schon darüber freuen, “das Wunder von Deutschland” zu sein, geht es heute also endlich richtig los. Ab heute Abend, Viertel vor acht, wird den ja so offensichtlich ihrer Identität unsicheren und unglücklichen Deutschen endlich erklärt, wer sie eigentlich sind und daß sie sich ab jetzt gefälligst besser besser fühlen sollen. Sollen? Müssen! Laut Pressepaket:

[“Du bist Deutschland”] startet am 26. September 2005 mit einem einzigartigen TV-Auftakt: Der zweiminütige TV-Spot wird nahezu zeitgleich auf den TV-Sendern der beteiligten Medienunternehmen ausgestrahlt. ARD und ZDF senden den Spot erstmals um 19.56 Uhr, SAT1, ProSieben und Kabel 1, RTL, RTL 2, VOX und Super RTL sowie alle Premiere- Spielfilmkanäle strahlen ihn um 20.13 Uhr aus. Ebenfalls am 26. September erfolgt der Launch der Kampagnensite www.du-bist-deutschland.de. Eine breit angelegte Kommunikation über Tageszeitungen und Publikumszeitschriften, Kino, Online-Medien und Outdoor-Werbung schließt sich an. Die Kampagne läuft bis Januar 2006.

Mediamix (exklusive Online)
Insgesamt stellen die Medienpartner in dem Kampagnenzeitraum von vier Monaten mehr als 30 Millionen Euro Mediavolumen bereit. Dadurch werden rund 1,6 Milliarden Kontakte erzielt. Dies entspricht einer rechnerischen Reichweite von 98%. Jeder Deutsche wird durchschnittlich 16 Mal angesprochen.

Und dabei ist auch www.ichbindeutschland.de noch nicht eingerechnet… mal ganz ehrlich, ich bin gespannt, wie lange es dauert, bis die Widersprüchlichkeit einer in korporatistisch-hierarchisch deutscher Tradition entstanden Kampagne mit dem von ihr propagierten individualistischen Grundgedanken (*DU* bist Deutschland) so laut wird, daß die 16 Kontakte pro Person nicht mehr im Vordergrund stehen…

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Allgemein

Moss, Drugs, and Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Could somebody please explain to me what all the ‘Kate Moss has been taking Cocaine’ fuss is about? A (super)model – actually the one most famous for her heroin-addict-look – has been taking drugs (again). Oh the humanity! Has something comparable ever happened before? I’m shocked to the core! I wonder how people manage to sleep with this kind of knowledge.

Alright. Too bad a guy took a picture and sold it. But seriously – the world is full of issues that are actullly important, and, moreover, interesting. Read (and write) about those.

Thank you, good night, and have a good week.

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oddly enough

Slavery.

Spiegel Online reports with reference to the Malaysian newspaper Malay Mail (link in German) that police in Malaysia freed eight Indonesian prostitutes who were forced to have intercourse without contraceptives, and become pregnant, so the Malaysian child trafficking ring could sell the babies for about 4,400 to 6,600 Euros to Malaysian clients. The Indonesian women, two of whom were pregnant when they were freed, were allegedly lured into the country by promises to get jobs as “nannys”, and I’m not sure their “recruiters” weren’t aware of their cynicism.

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oddly enough, photoblogging

The Veiled Barbie.

The NYT reports about the stunning success of a hijab wearing Barbiesque doll in the Middle East. Introduced in late 2003, the doll carrying the brand “Fulla” is reportedly available in “every corner store”. For those who aren’t fortunate enough to be able to afford the doll there is Fulla-branded chewing gum.

It’s an interesting development – as the paper reports, other companies, including Mattel, the owner of the Barbie brand, have product lines of veiled dolls marketed in Islamic countries, yet no foreign company was able to claim the cultural authenticity, that seems to have allowed Fulla to succeed to the extent she has.

Some seem to see this as a consequence of the growing cultural influence of conservative Islam in the Middle East, indicating that such a venture would not have succeeded 10 years ago, and that the doll serves well to perpetuate the importance of the veil –

“My friends and I loved Barbie more than anything,” she said. “But maybe it’s good that girls have Fulla now. If the girls put scarves on their dolls when they’re young, it might make it easier when their time comes. Sometimes it is difficult for girls to put on the hijab. They feel it is the end of childhood.” “Fulla shows girls that the hijab is a normal part of a woman’s life,” Ms. Ghayeh continued. She gestured behind her, at a pair of excited little girls examining a rack of Fulla-branded Frisbees and pool toys. “Now the girls only want Fulla.”

Not that I think it is appropriate to deny any woman the right to wear (or not wear) whatever she deems appropriate for whichever reason. However, while possible, it is unlikely that Fulla’s success is not at least partly related to recent geopolitical shifts in the Arab world – a region filled with peoples which are seemingly desperately trying reinvent their identities by reuniting their cultural and religious heritage with the world around them. So, while I’m sure that Fulla’s success will cause some concern among those hoping for the continously growing amount of young Arabs to achieve that, we know by now that it is usually a difficult and rather violent process. So I’m not sure Fulla isn’t actually a positive development.

Too bad that she will lead a rather lonely life – despite the fact that the company producing the doll is apparently called “NewBoy, Inc.”, there are no plans for a young handsome Arab Ken-doll.

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oddly enough, sex

The Glorious Eight 1

I just found this Washington Post article about The FBI finally joining the Bush administration’s War on Porn.

As Barton Gellman reported yesterday on page A21 of the paper,

“… the bureau’s Washington Field Office began recruiting for a new anti-obscenity squad. … The new squad will divert eight agents, a supervisor and assorted support staff to gather evidence against “manufacturers and purveyors” of pornography — not the kind exploiting children, but the kind that depicts, and is marketed to, consenting adults.”

It’s got a lot to do with attorney general Alberto Gonzales ambitions and his acceptability to Christian Conservatives and thus isn’t really interesting – the US has a history of obscenity vs. free speech conflicts, just ask Larry Flynt. But politically motivated initiatives like this seemed to have been out of fashion since the Reagan presidency. Clearly, the new top-priority unit consisting of 8+1 porn-fighters will keep America’s thriving porn industry from further subverting “family values”… although, the recruitment may turn out to be harder than expected, as an agent told the reporter – on condition of anonymity-

“Honestly, most of the guys would have to recuse themselves.’ …

I guess this means we’ve won the war on terror,’said one exasperated FBI agent, speaking on the condition of anonymity because poking fun at headquarters is not regarded as career-enhancing. ‘We must not need any more resources for espionage.’

Among friends and trusted colleagues, an experienced national security analyst said, ‘it’s a running joke for us.’

A few of the printable samples:

“Things I Don’t Want On My Resume, Volume Four.”

“I already gave at home.”

I suppose one of the perks coming with this job would be government sponsored tickets to the annual San Francisco Masturbate-a-thon.

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