The winsome garden gnome campaign

The headline says it clearly. The April 1973 edition of the STIHL customer magazine, “Holz und Motor,” proclaims in red lettering: “New: STIHL also makes hobby equipment.” This comes across as perhaps a little embarrassing for STIHL at the time. Addressing the professional readership which works “with STIHL saws day in and day out, in forests and woodlands,” the company timidly communicates that they are now also offering tools for hobbyists and DIY enthusiasts.

But STIHL does not directly address its traditional professional customer base in its own voice. Instead the company sends out a whimsical and adorable chap wearing a pointed hat, holding a flower, and with a twinkle in his eye. A perfect picture of sweetness and light that will surely soften even the toughest chainsaw men out there. The STIHL hobby gnome politely introduces himself as a symbol for all STIHL Hobby power tools – and the representative of a new user group. These people are completely different from you, the gnome carefully explains to the pros – people who use STIHL power tools only in their leisure time and while they are “having fun”.

From the wild to the quiet life

It is quite amusing to look back at this disarmingly honest announcement, though it does demonstrate the clear concern that the new range would be misunderstood by professional users. Reading between the lines, it is almost as though the hobby gnome is trying to avert a relationship breakdown as he assures the reader: “The Hobby department at STIHL will always have a very secondary profile compared to the design departments for pros.”

While STIHL’s roots lie deep in the forest, the garden is new territory. But the STIHL Hobby range brings the right tools for the job – and they are as dinky and compact as the gnome is.

“Solid STIHL power tools”

The STIHL 015 – available with a hedge trimmer attachment if needed – is smaller than the smallest professional saw. At just 3.9 kilograms, the STIHL E10 electric saw is lightweight in comparison to what is available on the market. The STIHL TS 200 cut-off machine is for anyone “who wants to beautify their garden or little patch of outdoors, and needs a gasoline-powered tool to do so.” For ambitious DIY enthusiasts, STIHL offers the 020 AV and 020 AVH, the hobbyist counterpart to the smallest professional saw, the STIHL 020 AVP. The latter is a development of the 020 AV hobby saw – showing that forestry demands for lighter saws became more urgent in the 1970s. The hobby tools are “handy, reliable and easy to maintain,” assures the gnome. “They are not toys. They are solid STIHL power tools.” So the STIHL hobby gnome ends its debut with a wonderfully unifying conclusion: For professional and hobby tools the quality is the same; “STIHL – always STIHL.”

A professional heart in every hobby gardener

Looking back, the product and target group diversification initiated in 1973 sets the tone for the future - with battery technology meaning STIHL power tools today are even easier to handle, quieter and lighter. For example the GTA 26 battery garden pruner, which weighs only 1.1 kilograms. STIHL offers a wide range of tools for both professional users and hobbyists. Today the company also understands that there is a professional heart in every hobby gardener.

The STIHL hobby gnome is dedicated to his job. He turns up on all kinds of useful items in the 1970s. For example he helps open bottles, pops up on T-shirts and garden aprons, and even offers comfort in the form of adhesive bandages. The friendly little gnome is an adorable go-between for forestry professionals and hobby gardeners, as STIHL opens the garden gate between them. But it seems he is not needed for long; he vanishes – perhaps settling down in a cozy green space to reinvent himself as a garden gnome? We wish him well.