German Firm Turns Louvre Heist Link into Viral Ad
A German lift manufacturer has turned its unwitting role in the recent Louvre Museum jewel heist into a viral marketing success.
Bocker – a family-run company based in Werne near Dortmund – discovered that its Agilo furniture lift had been used by thieves to access the building in Paris, France, through a first-floor window before escaping with Napoleonic-era jewels worth €88 million.
Within a day, the firm launched a tongue-in-cheek campaign across social media, featuring the image of the lift and the slogan: “When you need to move fast.”
The caption highlighted the product’s ability to transport “up to 400 [kilograms] of treasures at 42 [metres] per minute – as quiet as a whisper.”
Marketing chief Julia Scharwatz said she and her husband, chief executive Alexander Bocker, were “shocked” to see their product in footage of the theft but decided to use humour once it was clear no one was hurt.
Bocker sold the device in 2020 to a Paris rental company, from which the thieves allegedly stole it during a product demonstration.
The advertising campaign has since gone viral, reaching more than 1.7 million people online. While most praised the “marketing genius,” some critics called the ad “tasteless”.
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