Funny or aggressive? Pragmatic analysis of national stereotypes in a commercial spot - a case study

The paper deals with the sense of humor represented in stereotypes and in jokes about various nations. The thesis that 'real is what has real consequences' is examined on the basis of advertisements. The focus of the paper is on Media Markt (consumer electronics retailer operating in Western and Central Europe). One of their campaigns using the slogan 'Ich bin doch nicht blöd' (I am not that stupid) was accompanied with a series of short dialogues between shop assistants and customers from different countries and ethnic groups. As a result of the protests of the Poles and of the Germans of Polish origin, the company decided to stop presenting the spot mocking Poles in Germany and even removed it immediately from its website. The analysis of the scripts present in a spot is carried out and the discussion of the pragmatic context of the issue is conducted. The characteristic features of the xenophobic language and the means of contempt are presented. A thin border between what is funny and what is aggressive is observed in the context of national sense of humor or its lack.