Who plays aunt helga in ionos advert

The actress playing Aunt Helga in the IONOS advertising campaign is the German actress and cabaret artist Katharina Hoffmann. Hoffmann is represented by Mulholland Talent Management and her role as Aunt Helga is listed on her professional acting profile on the casting database, Filmmakers. [10, 16] The character was created for the web hosting company's first-ever UK advertising campaign, which proved highly successful.

Who is Katharina Hoffmann?

Katharina Hoffmann is an experienced German actress, born in Berlin in 1965. [16] She trained at the Berliner Schauspielseminar, achieving her stage maturity qualification in 1985. [16] Her career has primarily been in German-language productions, with numerous guest and supporting roles in popular television series since her debut in 1993, including appearances in crime dramas like Derrick and SOKO Wismar. [3] Beyond her screen work, Hoffmann is also an accomplished comedian and cabaret artist, performing her own solo shows and receiving an award in 2019 for her comedy. [3, 9] Her professional profile lists fluency in German and Danish, with very good English skills. [16]

The Aunt Helga Character

Aunt Helga is presented as a model of “Teutonic efficiency.” [4, 5] The character is instantly recognisable for her silver skyscraper hairstyle, jet-propelled heels, and a no-nonsense attitude intended to cut through the complexity of web services. [4, 11] Her commanding presence is designed to subvert the stereotype of the “cosy grandmother,” instead presenting an older woman with attitude who is an expert in her field. [5, 8] The character deploys catchphrases such as “Relax darlings” and “I own this,” the latter being a direct play on the brand name IONOS. [4, 7]

Which campaigns did Aunt Helga appear in?

Aunt Helga was introduced in September 2021 as part of IONOS's first major UK campaign, titled 'I own this'. [4] The initial 40-second television commercial was directed by Marc Sidelsky through the production studio Armoury London. [4] The launch was a significant success, reportedly generating record-breaking traffic to the IONOS website and surpassing all internal benchmarks. [5, 6, 8]

Following this positive reception, the character returned in October 2022 for a second campaign called 'Relax Darlings'. [6, 8] This new advert, directed by Sidney Van Wichelen, saw Helga return with a futuristic hoverboard to help an e-scooter business, broadening the campaign's focus to include online retail and design capabilities for small to midsize businesses and creative studios. [5, 6, 8]

Who created the Aunt Helga character?

The character and the campaign were the result of a close collaboration between three London-based agencies, described by those involved as a “supergroup” approach. [4, 11] The agencies were:

• NOMAD, a branding agency that shaped the overall brand identity. [4, 23]
• 2050 London, the advertising agency responsible for the creative direction. [4]
• Armoury London, the creative production studio that produced the commercials. [4]

This collaborative model, which brought brand, creative, and production elements together from the start, was credited with allowing the team to develop the distinctive character and campaign in a very short timeframe. [4, 11]

What is IONOS and who is the campaign aimed at?

IONOS is a web hosting and cloud services provider, founded in Germany, that offers digital tools for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). [4, 22] The Aunt Helga campaign is specifically aimed at the UK market, targeting result-oriented small business owners who find managing their online presence a challenge on top of their daily responsibilities. [4, 22] The character of Aunt Helga acts as the personification of IONOS's value proposition: an efficient, expert partner that “owns” the web challenges so that business owners can focus on running their business. [4, 8, 22]

How was the campaign received?

The campaign was considered a major success, with the creative team noting that the results from the first year were “so high above the benchmarks that were set.” [5, 8] The decision to create a memorable and “positively bonkers” brand character was a deliberate attempt to stand out in a market where such mascots have become less common. [5, 6] The agencies stated their goal was to create a character that people would remember and respond to, turning the typical “web-geek image on its head.” [7, 11] The significant increase in website traffic and brand awareness following the launch led directly to Aunt Helga's return for the second campaign in 2022. [5, 8]