Sunday saw a shocking daytime robbery at the Louvre. Thieves scaled the museum’s walls to a second-floor window, made off with invaluable jewels, and then descended to their waiting getaway scooters, all with the aid of a common furniture elevator. The audacity of the crime left many in France utterly stunned and deeply angered.
However, for the German company responsible for manufacturing that specific elevator, this notorious event wasn’t a setback—it was a serendipitous, once-in-a-lifetime marketing opportunity.
Alexander Böcker, CEO of the German machinery firm Böcker, alongside his wife Julia Scharwatz, immediately recognized their distinctive Agilo truck-lift in news reports. Just one day after the heist, they swiftly launched a bold new advertising campaign across social media platforms, capitalizing on the unexpected spotlight.
The provocative new ad featured a photo of the very lift stationed outside the iconic Louvre, emblazoned with the tagline: ‘When you’re in a hurry, the Böcker Agilo carries your heavy treasures.’
This incredibly quick marketing move perfectly tapped into the online buzz surrounding the heist, an event that unfolded in under ten minutes and, thankfully, caused no physical harm—though it certainly bruised French national pride. The company secured the photo rights first thing Monday morning, a result of rapid brainstorming among Mr. Böcker, Ms. Scharwatz, and their team.
According to Mr. Böcker in a Reuters interview, the campaign even garnered international acclaim, with comments like, ‘Hey, you Germans do have a sense of humor after all!’
Böcker’s main office is located in Werne, a western German town almost 400 miles from the Louvre. Ms. Scharwatz clarified via email that the specific Agilo elevator involved in the Louvre incident was reportedly stolen from a Parisian company, which had purchased it from Böcker back in 2020.
Mr. Böcker assured Reuters that the decision to launch the ad was made only after confirming that no one was injured during the heist, and that the campaign was not actively pushed in France. However, back home in Germany, the advertisement has been a resounding success, seemingly resonating with a sense of schadenfreude – the pleasure derived from another’s misfortune – among the German public.
One Instagram commenter perfectly summed up the sentiment: ‘Excellent. This is German quality!’