Anti-semitism has reawakened in Germany, triggered by the violence in the Middle East.
Serviceplan has launched a brilliantly simple film for Zentralrat der Juden, Central Council of Jews in Germany, in which a woman talks about hiding her Jewish identity (a practice that is connected to the Holocaust). The 30-second spot uses AI to alter her age from old to young, underlining the message, The beginning reminds us of the past. The words come from real Jewish people in Germany. Their stories are retold by an actor to protect their privacy and names and details that could identify them have been removed.
There have been 2,249 antisemitic crimes in Germany since the October 7, 2023. Felix Klein, the Federal Government Commissioner for Combating Antisemitism, revealed these figures at the Federal Press Conference on January 25. This is almost as many antisemitic attacks as in the whole of 2022. Antisemitic incidents had already been on the rise in previous years, but now they have reached a new and alarming peak. The # StopRepeatingStories campaign was presented for the first time at the Federal Press Conference.
“Antisemitism can be felt in all areas of our society. Often, Jews who experience antisemitism are not taken seriously; their experiences are minimised and sometimes played down. With this campaign we want to make it clear that antisemitism is real, that it affects Jews in their everyday lives. I hope that society as a whole will show more empathy for contemporary antisemitism, especially in times of public remembrance of the Shoah,” stated Josef Schuster, president of the Zentralrat der Juden in Germany.
Jeannette Bohné, creative director at Serviceplan Berlin, explained, “#StopRepeatingStories is a campaign that is very close to our hearts. In order to draw attention to this important issue and touch people’s emotions, you need strong, surprising and innovative storytelling. With the help of Artificial Intelligence, we are able to show how quickly terrible past experiences can become the present, and that it is up to all of us to ensure more tolerance. Because never again is now and every day.”
“It is more important than ever to take a stand. We thank the Zentralrat der Juden in Germany for their trust in this highly relevant campaign. It was great to see the incredible commitment of our entire team, working together with specialists from AI, media, production and UX to set a creative exclamation point against antisemitism,” added Till Diestel, chief creative officer Serviceplan Germany.
Michael Johne, managing director of Creation Serviceplan Berlin, added, “#niewiederistjetzt (#neveragainisnow) means that one of the darkest parts of our history must never happen again. But many people think antisemitism is a thing of the past. The stories in the campaign tell us that we still experience antisemitic violence today and warn us of how present and real antisemitism is here and now.”
The campaign film running online and in social media. The film already has 700,000 views and has been shared by prominent activists such as Raul Krauthausen, with mentions in media such as STERN, ZEIT, and Tagesschau Online.
Further campaign films are planned for the coming weeks.
The campaign is supported by high-profile media placements. Currently, a 10 x 7.5 metre projection can be seen on Berlin’s Hermannplatz, where the campaign film runs on a continuous loop. A QR code allows viewers to directly access the landing page.
The stop-repeating-stories.org landing page serves as the campaign’s anchor point. It also provides recommendations on how individuals can support their Jewish fellow citizens in situations of discrimination and thus contribute to greater tolerance in society.
The campaign was advised by the Amadeu Antonio Foundation, the Federal Association of Research and Information Antisemitismus e.V. (RIAS), the project, ToleranzRäume, and the intiative „Gesicht zeigen!
Credits:
Creative & Strategy: Serviceplan Berlin
Jeannette Bohné – Managing Director
Michael Johne – General Manager
Benjamin Baum – Creative Director Copy
Maxim Weinstein – Head of Design
Anna-Lena Simon – Copywriter
Arash Sabbagh Sani Azad – Art Director
Tasha Schedler – Strategy Consultant
Campaign Film
Kevin Prösel – Managing Director | Serviceplan Group
Ferdinand Leopold Lotz – Head of XR Development | Serviceplan Group
Alexander Nagel – Managing Partner | ServiceplanMAKE
Tony Nitschke – Compositing-Artist | Serviceplan MAKE
Christoph Struber – Senior VFX-Artist | Serviceplan MAKE
Sebastian Weidner – Head of CGI | Serviceplan MAKE Aminah Folli – Supervision KI
Tim Stickelbrucks – Supervision KI
Production
Josephine Rügge – Senior Creative Producer | SP Make
Katrin Petersen – Producer | SP Make
Benjamin Wolff – Regisseur
Felix Baermann – DOP
Media: MediaPlus
Social Media:
Nadine Weiskircher – General Manager | SP Berlin
Sarah Ostermann – Director Influencer Marketing | Mediaplus Germany
Elisabeth Köster – Junior Account Manager Social Media
Till Isken – Junior Copywriter
Public Relations:
Franziska Freytag – PR Manager | SP Berlin
Céline Gils – PR & Content Coordinator | SP Public Relations
Birgit Koch – Lead Corporate Communications | SP Public Relations
Website: Plan.Net & NAM
Client: Zentralrat der Juden Germany
Daniel Botmann – Managing Director
Dr. Nils Lange – Communications
Eyal Levinsky – Digital Marketing
Till Diestel – Managing Partner
Julius Steffens – Creative Director
Annika Reinhardt – Senior Creative Producer
