German telecom discount brand Fraenk is skipping Black Friday entirely with a satirical campaign titled “Let Them Eat GB,” horizont.net reported.
The digital-first provider owned by Deutsche Telekom targets the annual retail push for larger data caps and bundled extras.
Campaign spots feature Queen Marie Antoinette, known historically as Madame Déficit, responding to basic mobile connectivity issues by pushing unnecessary gigabytes onto her subjects. Court hairdresser Monsieur Léonard encourages the queen’s lavish suggestions while Fraenk positions itself as a cautious advisor questioning the industry’s focus on excess.
The campaign draws on federal data regarding actual consumer consumption patterns to challenge prevailing marketing strategies. The Bundesnetzagentur reported in its 2025 annual report that active SIM profiles average 8.4 gigabytes of mobile data usage per month.
Fraenk campaign manager Yannick Noah Thomssen explained the motivation behind the counter-programming approach in published statements. “Am Black Friday legt unsere Branche noch eine Schippe drauf. Wir machen da bewusst nicht mit,” Thomssen said according to horizont.net. “Die meisten Menschen brauchen nicht mehr Datenvolumen, sondern einen fairen Preis ohne unnötige Kosten und ein Netz, auf das sie sich verlassen können.”
Comedienne Hazel Brugger serves as brand ambassador for Fraenk following her appointment in October 2025, starring in promotional spots that highlight straightforward pricing and contract simplicity. The 360-degree campaign spans ATV, CTV, cinemas, podcasts, and social media channels through February 14.
Additional marketing elements involve creator Xhemajlmo operating a fictional test laboratory named the “Fraenk Institut” on social media. The lab simulates daily scenarios with voiceover guidance to evaluate actual user data needs, featuring appearances by YouTuber Tomatolix in select experiments.
