Wall Street Journal - February 15, 2000
Commerzbank Hosts Flower Power 'Hippie General Assembly' Revival
By ALFRED KUEPPERS Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
BERLIN -- Germany's bankers know all about power suits, power moves and power marketing -- but flower power?
Commerzbank AG's international unit here has invited 200 diplomats and business executives to a party it calls "Flower Power: Some hours of peace & music," a remembrance of Woodstock.
Say what?
"Woodstock was a time of new departure, and this is a time of new departure in Berlin," says Ilka Hartmann, the bank vice president in charge of individual client services for Commerzbank's international customers in Berlin. "And since there have been so many wars in Europe recently, we wanted to have a peace theme."
For those unfamiliar with the 1969 rock 'n" roll festival on a farm in New York state, Commerzbank helpfully included a lengthy description with the invitation. It defines Woodstock as the first Hippievollversammlung, or Hippie General Assembly.
Making Friends
The point is to persuade foreigners that Commerzbank is a customer-friendly outfit, without the sex and drugs of the original festival, of course.
"We hope to ameliorate the impression that foreigners often have of Germany as a non-service-oriented country," the bank says.
Most of Ms. Hartmann's outreach consists of serious forums on European economic and monetary union, visits to consulates and corporate offices, and advice on finding a French-speaking dentist and the like. But last year, the bank threw a Carnival season costume party on the theme of the 1920s. For this year's party, a Berlin disk jockey will spin '60s tunes against a backdrop of flower decorations in a hotel ballroom.
The menu -- "simple, light and fresh," the bank says -- won't be the main attraction. "If you've seen the Woodstock film, you can see that food didn't play such a strong role," says Angelika Held-Flessing of Commerzbank's marketing department. "Other things were emphasized there."
Patches and Peace Signs
None of the invitees has questioned the Woodstock theme. They just want to know what to wear. The bank's answer: Anything goes. For those who need more detailed instruction, Ms. Hartmann sends them to a trendy local retailer. "Peace and love is a fashion, and all the young people go in for it," she says.
Daniela Araujo, 37, wife of the top Brazilian diplomat in Berlin, is making costumes for herself and her husband (who once played in a rock band in China), putting patches on some old jeans and peace signs on some old T-shirts. Unfortunately, she says, it's tough to find peace-sign jewelry these days.