Germany's AfD near historic success with controversial ad campaign

The far-right is on the verge of a historic breakthrough in Germany's elections this weekend, powered by a controversial media campaign previously unheard of in the country.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel may be on the brink of making history herself, as she likely to win a fourth term in office.

But the Alternative for Germany party (AfD) is poised to win seats in the Bundestag.

For the first time in 60 years, a radical right-wing party will have gained a foothold in the nation's parliament.

That would be a turning point to change the nature of political debate in Germany.

A party with racist and nationalist tendencies may well become the country's official opposition if, as expected, Germany's two mainstream parties renew their coalition.

That will give AfD the perks of parliamentary office to entrench its power and influence.

The possibility is deeply alarming the German political establishment.

And so is the campaign behind it.

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AfD is using adverts that blend nationalist sentiment, xenophobia and misogyny in a way that defies the stodgy, staid conventions of political campaigning in Germany.

In an offensive poke at the fact Muslims don't eat pork, there is the picture of a piglet under the provocative slogan: "Islam? It doesn't fit in with our cuisine."

There's also the image of two women pictured from behind wearing bikinis, with the strapline: "Burkas? We prefer bikinis."

Another features a smiling, pregnant white woman lying on her back on a picnic blanket in a field of flowers. It reads: "New Germans? We'll make them ourselves."

For many, the imagery and message is unmistakably reminiscent of Nazi-era propaganda urging "Aryan" German women to reproduce in order to advance the so-called "master race".

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Social media is playing a key role as it did in recent French, British and US elections.

Digital analytics company Newswhip reported AfD enjoying far higher engagement on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.

One AfD ad promoted on Facebook uses a motif of bloody tyre tracks.

Under date stamps recording recent European terror attacks, the title reads: "The tracks left by the world Chancellor in Europe."

The ad is wrongly imputing blame on Ms Merkel's immigration policies for those terror attacks carried out using vehicles.

The brains behind the iconoclastic ads is author Thor Kunkel, best known for writing a controversial novel about Nazis making pornography.

But the ad strategy promoting his images is driven by US media company Harris Media, which has also worked for Donald Trump.

They are combining to bring Germans a new style of political campaigning, fusing provocative imagery with radical messaging - propelled through state-of-the-art social media technology.