Bares for Rares is actually aimed at a more mature audience. Moderator Horst Lichter is already over 60, and the other experts also usually only exude a little youthful freshness. Now ZDF has given the show a huge makeover – on TikTok. But not everyone likes what there is to see there. Because shame and humor are dangerously close together.
Humor goes Gen-Z: The Cash for Rares account on TikTok is a fever dream
Let’s face it: Cash for Rares is extremely popular, but the show has never really seemed young and fresh. The show has been flickering across our screens for 10 years and has lost the reputation of being aimed at a more mature audience. No wonder: At first glance, selling dusty antiques doesn’t seem like a topic that could lure kids out from behind their iPhones.
The whole thing looks completely different on TikTok: The otherwise serious junk show presents itself as wild and silly on the social media platform – even Horst Lichter is up for fun. Here it shows the presenter in a glittery costume and platinum blonde wig:
At this point you will find external content that complements the article. You can display it and hide it again with one click.
What you immediately notice when scrolling through: Cash for Rares on TikTok is aimed at Gen-Z and therefore appears completely different than on TV. The focus is less on the rarities themselves, instead the cash for the rare cast is intended to provide laughs. Older fans of the show in particular will enjoy clips like this only train station understands:
At this point you will find external content that complements the article. You can display it and hide it again with one click.
The community is divided: This is how Gen Z humor is received by fans
ZDF is relying on a tactic that can be observed in numerous industries: it has long been recognized that you can only attract Gen-Z if you speak their language. The humor may seem illogical to older generations at first, but the comments on TikTok prove that younger people in particular are totally celebrating the weird Cash for Rares account. Here Horst Lichter simply becomes “Talahorst” and takes up current memes:
At this point you will find external content that complements the article. You can display it and hide it again with one click.
Many people like that Bares for Rares dares to shake off the dusty ZDF image: “Please give the admin a wage increase, I’ll gladly pay GEZ for that”said one user on TikTok. Another says it even more specifically: “ZDF understood Gen Z humor.” It is often joked that an intern secretly took over the account: “Intern out of control, but I love it.”
However, there are also negative sentiments. Some users are worried that the station is completely exaggerating with the strange humor. “What’s going on at ZDF?”said a comment on TikTok. Many people can hardly believe that the show is presented so differently than on TV: “Is this the real account?” One user suggests that he would have preferred to be spared the Gen Z humor: “Help, don’t give Rares cash too”