Niedersachsen launches 'Das ist groß' rebrand with Schröder and Scorpions, polls show 63–80% dislike

The new campaign

Lower Saxony's red-green government launched its new regional branding on 8 June 2026, replacing the previous slogan 'Niedersachsen. Klar.' with 'Niedersachsen. Das ist groß.' (Lower Saxony. That is great/big). The campaign was developed by Berlin agency Scholz & Friends and is backed by up to €10 million in public funds for 2026 and 2027.

If we make ourselves small against all the others who make themselves big, then we won't be noticed.

The rollout includes a sound logo built around the whistled intro of the Scorpions' 1990 hit 'Wind of Change' and a KI-assisted teaser video starring Braunschweig-born basketball world champion Dennis Schröder. In the clip, Schröder skydives from a plane, assists at a birth in a doctor's coat, and rides a horse on a beach, telling viewers: 'As a Lower Saxon, I recommend: Lower Saxony.'

Public reaction

Initial response has been sharply negative. An NDR Niedersachsen online poll of roughly 6,000 participants found 63% rated the slogan 'Not my thing.' A separate survey by the Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung with around 4,400 respondents showed nearly 80% agreeing with the statement 'Oh dear, that's not very creative.' The Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung ran a front-page headline: 'Already forgotten again...'

Flat and unimaginative.

On Instagram, some users called the slogan 'ridiculous' and questioned the €10 million spend. One comment on Minister-President Olaf Lies' page read: 'And you blew 10 million on that.' The government's social media team defended the outlay as 'an important investment in the future' that helps 'bring ideas, investments and opportunities into the state and keep them here.'

What 'great' means

According to the campaign website dasistgross.de, the slogan refers not to geographic size (Lower Saxony is Germany's second-largest state by area) but to the diversity of its people, landscapes, traditions and innovation. The state cites a study by consultancy IW Consult ranking it Germany's second-most-attractive state for future growth, behind Bavaria and ahead of Baden-Württemberg. The campaign highlights the country's highest birth rate, a leading role in wind energy, and more than ten million fruit trees in the Altes Land region.

Political and business response

Volker Schmidt, chief executive of employers' association Niedersachsenmetall, welcomed the push for a more confident self-presentation but cautioned: 'The decisive factor will be whether it offers more in the long term than atmospheric images and "Wind of Change".' The association had earlier commissioned an Allensbach Institute survey showing that nearly half of Germans have only a vague idea of Lower Saxony, and one in four associate little or nothing with the state. Schmidt had warned the state risked becoming 'the Bielefeld of federal states.'

AfD parliamentary leader Klaus Wichmann called the slogan lacking 'esprit, wit or charm' and said a 'lame advertising slogan' could not magic away the state's problems.

Expert skepticism

Brand sociologist Oliver Erricchiello of the Hamburg Institute for Brand Sociology expressed doubt that the campaign would stick. 'State campaigns are often a means to an end, signalling activity internally,' he said. 'Often they don't anchor themselves in people's minds because the budget for long-lasting, nationwide rollout is missing.' He praised Baden-Württemberg's 'The Länd' campaign as a more effective model, noting that state advertising must pass through many committees and 'the concept must not rub anyone up the wrong way.'

State campaigns are often a means to an end, signalling activity internally. Often they don't anchor themselves in people's minds because the budget for long-lasting, nationwide rollout is missing.

Some citizens also complained about the lack of public participation, suggesting a poll or competition would have been cheaper and more inclusive. Alternative slogans proposed in comment sections included 'Land mit Zukunft' (Land with a future), 'Niedersachsen. Moin.', and 'Niedersachsen. Sympathisch. Nordisch. Stur.' (Likeable. Northern. Stubborn.).