Steep mountains, wet valleys: This poster causes mighty trouble
What happened?
Gallus Strobel, mayor of the 5000-inhabitant community Triberg in the Black Forest, came up with the clever idea to advertise his "men's parking spaces" with a provocative image. On display is a naked woman, who lolls on the floor with her legs slightly apart, stretching her voluptuous breasts towards the sky. Above her silhouette is the slogan: "Steep mountains, moist valleys".
No, right?
But. CDU member Strobel wants to make a "contribution to the humor in society".
... and finally make it into the headlines.
The attention is very convenient. Even though the town, which is located 45 kilometers southwest of Freiburg, boasts the highest waterfalls in Germany, Strobel would like to see even more well-to-do tourists watching the natural spectacle.
But with this action he at least scares the women!
Right. The criticism was not long in coming. "This type of sexist advertising, which uses the naked body of a woman as an eye-catcher and the sexual availability of women in general suggests is female and inhumane," says a statement of the women and Equality Commissioner of Baden-Wuerttemberg. On Twitter both women and men are annoyed about the clumsy motive. An alternative suggestion already exists:
Alternative proposal for #Triberg. #Herrenwitz #Marketing @bkaden @Jules_McCloud pic.twitter.com/IG1ocmOHiI
? Slack Widow (@Slack_Widow) August 14, 2015What does the mayor say about the headwind?
For this Gallus Strobel has no understanding: "It is about the freedom of art, which may and should provoke," he says. He is even pleased about the nationwide discussions. "What's going on now, is a priceless publicity for Triberg," said the 61-year-old local politician in conversation with the Black Forest messenger. The critics who accuse him of sexism simply have "no humor whatsoever".
How much humor do the inhabitants of Triberg understand?
Not as much as you mayor. The Triberger local council is not amused about the "level parking garage painting". It is irresponsible of a mayor to bring strife into his community with such cheap gimmickry. "Since Strobel obviously takes little account of the opinion of his citizens who voted for him, we (...) find ourselves compelled to (...) distance ourselves publicly from this primitive action that damages Triberg and their local council in the wrong light ", emphasize the elected representatives of the citizens.
Who actually thought up the nonsense?
The mural, commissioned by the hobby artist Werner Oppelt, is a copy of a graphic by Triberger artist Selina Haas, with whom the "Ferienland Schwarzwald" campaigned in 2014. Next to a woman's silhouette was the saying "Great mountains, wet valleys & lots of forest". Even then, there was trouble. After the German Advertising Advisory had dealt with the ad, the marketing company decided not to use them anymore. Both artists are not really happy with the motif. "I did that from the beginning with a bit of aversion, that's just not my style," says Oppelt. Haas emphasizes that her design was much more moderate. The parking lot image is indeed sexist, "especially with the context of men's car park, the picture moves into an erotic corner, that's too provocative."
Basically, why do you need men's parking?
Strobel, who marked the first men's car park in Germany as such three years ago, also has an explanation for this: "The pitches are very difficult to navigate, because you only get in backwards, so we came up with the idea of making them out of men . "
What a genius!
Not true? Backwards into the parking space - women are not programmed to do that, spatial imagination and so, we all know. So a really innovative accident prevention.
