Georg and Gustav just a side dish?
Tokio Hotel buddies step out of Kaulitz’s shadow
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When you think of Tokio Hotel, you think of Bill and Tom Kaulitz. Gustav Schäfer and Georg Listing have been part of the band since day one, but have always been in the shadow of the glamorous twins. Until now. For a new advertising campaign, the two are questioning their role as “side dishes”.
It's been almost 20 years since Tokio Hotel appeared on the scene with “Durch den Monsun” and celebrated their big breakthrough. Since then, the twins Bill and Tom Kaulitz have been an integral part of the public eye. They are currently almost omnipresent as successful podcasters, with the Netflix reality documentary “Kaulitz & Kaulitz” and as advertising icons for a fast food chain.
Their bandmates Georg Listing and Gustav Schäfer have always been in their shadow and therefore in the background. But now the bassist and drummer of Tokio Hotel are finally moving into the spotlight. The two are the stars of the new Aldi Süd campaign.
“Everything except side dish”
In the discounter's clip, Listing and Schäfer make fun of their own roles in the band. The spot plays with the idea that fruit and vegetables are often only seen as side dishes – similar to the two musicians next to the Kaulitz twins, who are currently promoting their own burgers at McDonald's. Listing and Schäfer play their biggest hit “Durch den Monsun”. They sit at the piano in a market square in the rain because – as a flashback shows – they have been forgotten once again by the other 50 percent of the band. Georg finally says resignedly to Gustav: “Let's open a restaurant instead.” It doesn't come to that, but as part of the Aldi campaign, Schäfer and Listing will at least serve side dishes in the pop-up restaurant “RoyAldi” in Cologne on July 22nd.
Tokio Hotel have had an impressive career since they started in 2005. With over ten million records sold worldwide and numerous awards, including the MTV Europe Music Award and the Echo, the band is internationally known. Bill Kaulitz has also established himself as a fashion icon, and Tom Kaulitz is in the headlines for his marriage to Heidi Klum. Despite various solo projects and different places of residence – the twins have lived in Los Angeles for ten years – the four musicians have always remained loyal to their band, recording albums and continuing to tour together.
