Since the 1990s TRIGEMA’s TV advertisement is screened in the “Best Minute” right before the “Tagesschau”, a German national and international news service aired at 20:00 in the public-service broadcaster ARD. But why does a monkey appear in the TRIGEMA advert? At the time we got offered a TV spot, which was initially produced for a large company, containing a chimpanzee speaking into a microphone. The original client was not longer interested in the spot and thus the producer offered us to acquire the rights for the chimpanzee-recordings in which we could then add a customized soundtrack. Searching for an eye-catching advertisement, this was exactly what we were looking for. Other than wearing a shirt, tie and glasses and furthermore chewing on nuts to imitate the mouthing of words, meant that the monkey was free from any customized properties. Therefore the only actions needed doing in order to air the sport, were to blend in the company logo and find a suitable text for the monkey to say.
Between 1990 and 1992 the first version of the spot was aired regularly before ARDs’ sports-magazine “Sportschau”. In order to reach a broader target audience, the spot was moved right before the Tagesschau in 1992. Since 1996, sole-owner and managing director, Wolfgang Grupp, himself appears in the spot, together with the TRIGEMA monkey. The spot’s high value of recognition was further strengthened by the popular German television series ‘Unser Charly’ containing a chimpanzee, which was aired in the 1990s.
TRIGEMA The TRIGEMA monkey
How did a monkey turn into TRIGEMA’s mascot?
Over the years, the advertisement has been continuously revised, although the chimpanzee as a presenter was always kept. This led to the monkey becoming TRIGEMA’s mascot, which today is not only used in the television add but also appears on top of our shops, on company-cars, T-Shirts, cups, bags, stickers, calendars and also on festive occasions at our headquarters.
The TRIGEMA monkey is also evolving over time. Currently, we are working on a 3D animated version of the monkey. With this step, TRIGEMA wants to open up the advertisement to groups that have previously been opposing the campaign because of animal rights and their involvement in protecting chimpanzees in the wild.
The TRIGEMA monkey is also evolving over time. Currently, we are working on a 3D animated version of the monkey. With this step, TRIGEMA wants to open up the advertisement to groups that have previously been opposing the campaign because of animal rights and their involvement in protecting chimpanzees in the wild.