Where the lawmakers are incapable of acting with bans, we found a way together with the NGO “Laut gegen Nazis” to legally stop Nazi Codes: through the trademark law. Our campaign became not only an effective way stop the spread of Nazi hate. It also produced phenomenal results in global press coverage and social media, reaching over 2.2 billion people with zero media budget.

This exceptional coverage exposed our client to a massive new audience. An incredible amount of donations were generated through our campaign while sparking a public debate on how Nazi ideologies can be stopped using the law.

The extreme right disseminates their hateful messages and ideologies to the masses by blending in. They use codes that reveal their true meaning only upon a closer look, or to people that are part of the Nazi scene.

Most Nazi symbols, signs and words have long been banned in Germany and other European countries. However, the Nazi scene has been bypassing bans for just as long: with its own codes and abbreviations. So the banned word "HAKENKREUZ" (Swastika) became "HKNKRZ", "HITLER" became "HTLR" and "VATERLAND" (Fatherland), "VTRLND" – rendering all bans pretty powerless.

A big problem! These codes, printed on shirts and merchandise, are the main source of income for right-wing organisations – and a way to spread their racist believes. A challenge that lawmakers have not yet risen to and one that is becoming more and more urgent with the political shift to the far right in Germany and Europe.

The extreme right have been concealing their hateful ideas through coded messages. Codes – used in place of explicit far-right terms – mean lawmakers are incapable of banning their use. Giving Nazis the opportunity to use them on merchandise such as t-shirts and sweaters to finance the movement.

Our client, "Laut gegen Nazis" (Noise against Nazis), is a nonprofit organisation that stands against the spread of extreme-right wing violence and hate across Germany and Europe. Our brief was to create awareness for the NGO, boost donations and educate people on existing Nazi codes and abbreviations.

The briefing resulted in a world-first approach to effectively stop the spread of extremist ideologies and hate.

The idea: Outsmarting Nazis by securing their codes with trademark law, and revoking the rights of Nazi online shops to use them.

Together with Laut gegen Nazis, we secured trademark rights for German and international Nazi codes at the European trademark office. As the new rightful owners of these trademarks, we can now bring Nazi shops to justice for the first time ever. By compelling them to remove and destroy the merch bearing these codes and claiming compensation for each item sold.

More and more of these trademarks will be published to create PR buzz for our campaign. We introduced our smart idea to our audience with a film and a website, optimised for press and social media. It is designed to engage our audience and encourage them to take part through donations.

Having zero media budget, our idea was about momentum: We launched our campaign the day after German state elections, which posed a significant risk of a strong outcome for the far-right. It became the primary topic in both print and online publications internationally, providing the necessary awareness for our campaign. Supported by statements of an ex-Nazi, this insider news created a buzz people couldn’t miss.

The key message: Nazis are using codes to spread their hateful ideologies and we have found a way to outsmart them.

Our primary target audience were community leaders, educators and politicians that would carry the campaign further by sharing it. The campaign heavily relied on these opinion makers to create a viral effect, given there was no media budget. This way we could reach a wider audience and general public – especially young people, who are more vulnerable to Nazi codes and the hateful ideologies.

Our launch was supported by a press meeting on day one, followed by a range of press interviews and an extensive press release. Simultaneously, we launched a film and a website.

Our idea was swiftly picked up and featured by crucial German news outlets like Spiegel, Süddeutsche Zeitung and even ZDF and shared via X (Twitter). Media outlets worldwide picked up on the campaign, from top-tier online publishers to international press. Social media accounts, both big and small, featured it and brought it to millions of users who liked, shared, and discussed the campaign. The results are huge, considering no money was spent on PR. Ultimately, all reach occurred organically.

Our campaign managed to strategically make Nazi codes part of the mainstream public discourse. We ignited a strong and pervasive conversation and played a pivotal role in reshaping the public perception of Nazi merchandise featuring repulsive ideologies. The media reach spanned a colossal 2.2 billion people. Online we reached impressive 117 million. Fostering an active engagement of 176,000, our campaign has masterfully orchestrated an unparalleled wave of awareness for our client, Laut gegen Nazis.

The impact manifests in a staggering 630% surge in searches related to the NGO and Nazi codes. Donations have increased by a massive 687%. We have achieved this while Germany is going through a general decrease in charity donations, which plummeted by over 30%. To summarise, our results have vastly exceeded the expectations set by our client.

Most Nazi symbols, signs and words have long been banned in Germany and other European countries. The banned word HAKENKREUZ became HKNKRZ, HITLER HTLR and VATERLAND VTRLND – and all bans powerless. Printed on various merchandise, these codes and abbreviations are available in online stores. They are also the main revenue stream funding right-wing extremism.

A challenge that lawmakers have not yet risen to and one that is becoming more and more urgent with the political shift to the far right. But it’s also a chance: Trading these codes for profit also meant these codes can be owned through trademark law. Trademark rights can be obtained much faster and are more efficient. This way, Nazi codes can be tackled a lot more efficiently than through the conventional law. Giving NGOs, such as Laut gegen Nazis, a new tool to fight the spread of Nazism and its hateful ideologies.