I was innocently flicking through the pages of a leading German magazine when I stumbled across the ad below.

For those of you who don’t live in Germany, let me explain the visual cues: we see a Turkish immigrant family, sitting over a pot of tea. The table cloth bears a swastika – something they’ve clearly not noticed. And in the bottom right (sadly cut off on my scan) is a flash highlighting an “Änderungsschneiderei” or tailor services. The tagline: “We change everything that isn’t quite right”.

Curiosity got the better of me. I rang the number. In a foreign accent the ansaphone explained that “We combat racism in German advertising. If you see any instances of racism in advertising, give us a call.” I had no message to leave, I could see what their ploy was.

As a non-profit organisation (NPO) you are marketing your wares (or here: services, ideas, philosophy, social cause, ideology) just as much as any other marketeer. But your job is much harder. Not only is it difficult to get the message right, paying for media space is usually way beyond your budget. So charities and small NPOs get given vouchers they can cash in for services from media and advertising partners. Some agencies also do work for charities at reduced rates or even on a voluntary basis.

But then the advertising message itself probably only gets one shot at the target. Which is precisely why this advertiser went for jugular. Believe me, in a country where you can be fined for doing a Hitler salute and wearing a swastika in public is also an offence, this ad gets a lot of German readers wincing.