Berlin – Forget SpongeBob SquarePants, Sesame Street, and the sourdough starter craze. Germany has its own unlikely star in the form of a depressed loaf of bread named Bernd das Brot. This year marks the 25th anniversary of Bernd’s debut as the reluctant star of a children’s television program that has become equally popular with adults.
Bernd das Brot is a cult classic in Germany, known for his deep, gloomy voice, his perpetual pessimism, and his signature catchphrase, “Mist!” (Think “Crap!” in English.) Voiced and operated by puppeteer Jorg Teichgraeber, Bernd is a television presenter who wants nothing to do with TV and can’t wait to go home and stare at the wallpaper. However, this year his friends – a sheep and a flower bush – are urging him to become a bread influencer.
The birth of Bernd das Brot can be traced back to a sketch on the back of a napkin in a pizzeria. Co-creators Tommy Krappweis and Norman Coster were asked to come up with mascots for KiKA, a German children’s public television channel. They drew inspiration from Krappweis’ friend, comic artist Georg Graf von Westphalen, who designed Bernd as a pullman loaf – a white bread typically sliced for sandwiches – with short arms and a permanent scowl. Bernd embodies German stereotypes with his grumpy disposition, love for complaining, and dry sense of humor and irony.
Bernd’s first episode aired on KiKA in 2000, alongside his more optimistic friends, Chili the Sheep and Briegel the Bush.
But it was a decision by KiKA in 2003 that would launch Bernd into cult status. The network began airing Bernd’s short episodes in the night loop, which typically had dead air from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. This brought in an adult audience, often those sitting at home smoking pot or returning from a night of partying. Bernd’s popularity soared and he became a German cult classic.
In 2004, Bernd won the prestigious Adolf Grimme Prize, the German television equivalent of an Emmy. The jury praised him for representing “the right to be in a bad mood.” In a KiKA Q&A about Bernd’s anniversary, Krappweis said, “Bernd shows you that you are less vulnerable with humor and self-irony. And perhaps the most important point is: It’s totally okay if you don’t feel well sometimes. That’s completely fine.”
In one of Bernd’s most memorable episodes, Episode 85, we learn about his broken heart. “A long, long time ago, I fell in love with a beautiful, slim baguette. She was so incredibly charming and funny,” Bernd confesses to Chili and Briegel. But unfortunately, his love was unrequited as she only had eyes for a run-of-the-mill multigrain bread. This heartbreak adds to Bernd’s already pessimistic outlook on life.
Despite Bernd’s constant complaints and desire to leave the show, his episodes have never become stale. He sings, he dances, he’s been to space, and he’s even the star of merchandise, a video game, and headlines like “Give Us Our Daily Bernd.” He was even kidnapped in 2009. His 2-meter-tall statue was stolen from its traditional place outside the town hall in Erfurt, where KiKA is based. A group of demonstrators claimed responsibility for the kidnapping in a video posted on YouTube, but they later denied involvement and the video was taken down. Bernd was eventually found unharmed in an abandoned barracks, two weeks after his disappearance.
As Bernd’s 25th anniversary approaches, KiKA is planning to honor him with new episodes, an updated version of his hit song, and online activities for both kids and adults. The celebrations will take place on Bernd’s birthday, February 29th. The latest series will premiere in September, with Bernd, Chili, and Briegel launching a social media channel called “Better with Bernd” in an attempt to transform him into a bread influencer. However, their inventions to make school and life easier for viewers will inevitably backfire, and Bernd will become a defluencer – an involuntary trendsetter
