When I saw "Indians Do Not Know Pain”: Marketing the Stoic Indian, I was pretty confused, because I have never heard of Indians being known for their stoicism. I thought they were known for their cuisine and Bollywood. :P

And another thing: The German term "Indianer" means "American Indian". "Inder" means Indian (from India).

This ad is also a great demonstration of the stereotype of Native Americans being more natural and closer to nature than the civilized white people. The ad puts a strong emphasis on the product's natural qualities- in addition to verbally mentioning it several times, the slogan at the end is tells us that it is the "pflanzliche Schmerzsalbe" which literally translates to the "natural/ plant based pain salve."

Even more interesting (for me as a German) is the fact, that I - when talking to my children - know no better expression to tell them "be brave".
I can just bite my lip and say nothing.
I think the phrase: "Ein Indianer kennt keinen Schmerz" was there before that add. This add uses it only playing with it.

Sorry, but I don't see your "playing with the stereotyp". Even if you don't understand the language, you should be able to tell that the "Indianer" ("American Indian") *uses* that ointment to be relieved of the pain. It's not that he supresses it like the phrase "Indiands don't know pain" is used in German: kid falls -> cries -> "Ein Indianer kennt keinen Schmerz"= supress the pain because it's just a tiny, tiny scratch and you as a badass "Indianer" (which is used as a stereotyp of the brave, strong human) should not be bothered by such a tiny, tiny thingy on your knee, so get up again.

The add actually (for me) tells a story more along the lines of: If you feel pain, don't supress it, use our (nature) product because *even* the "Indianer" uses it!

What I do see is the use of: Native American-> close to nature -> knows what is good for him (aka "stuff of nature") -> you (consumer) should use it too.

I myself still confused how people in India and the first people living in America be called.

I think this is a case of not understanding a colloquialism in another language yet still attempting to do some kind of sociological analysis.

I'm inclined to go more with the comments from the Germans here. It's playing on the pre-existing German phrase as well as the association between Native Americans and nature.
Some people might still say it's an anachronistic portrayal and objectifies the man, though. Would we have the same problem with an advert portraying a European man as a knight? I'm not sure, but Europeans have not been objectified in the same way in the past.

As with all terminology involving people, the best thing to do is to use the language that the real! live! Indians use to describe themselves. (Which, for most, is their tribal affiliation, though of course when talking about the broader group it's a different situation. This Caddo uses "Indian," no problem.)

As for the ad: This plays into the odd sort of fascination that Europeans--Germans in particular--have historically had with Indians.

http://www.utne.com/Spirituality/Germans-weekends-Native-Americans-Indian-Culture.aspx

Also a German here. A little context might help understand, especially in what concerns the German obsession with "Indianer".

The "Indianer"-Topos in Germany, including the "kennt keinen Schmerz", probably goes way back to Karl May, who at the time of writing "Winnetou" had never set a foot on North American ground, and who actually conceptualized the "Indianer", and especially Winnetou as a kind of ideal German. In Mays books, the real "Indianer" (that is, the one that is not corrupted by too much contact with Western civilization) will side with the German (Old Shatterhand, Old Surehand, most White male protagonists) against the forces of evil, usually connected with "civilization" (capitalists, representatives of the state who misuse their power,...). There is also an evil "tribe", the "Komantschen" (Comanche), who fight the good "Apatschen" (Apache) and usually are allied to the evil white guys. However, May himself referred to Winnetou as an allegory for "the red man" per se.

Winnetou is the embodiment of the "noble savage" topos: brave, virtuous, clean, humble, spiritual, in contact with nature,... Winnetou and other "good" Native Americans in May's books show their manliness and "honour" by exhibiting no reaction when suffering torture at the "Marterpfahl" (I don't know any translation for this. "torture stake" maybe? Also, I'm pretty sure that this device is fictional, invented by May).

Mays idea of the "Indianer" as the ideal German connects to the so-called "völkisch" (not translatable, it's ultranationalist right-wing extremism, esotericism and racism intermingled) philosophy in the then Kaiserreich that saw France and England as promoters of decadent "roman" civilization and the Germans as representatives of "pure", virtuous "culture" (the term "Kultur" in the Kaiserreich was much more charged with certain "völkisch" values than the literal translation "culture".). The "völkisch" intellectuals cited Tacitus, who had decried decadence in the Roman Empire by describing the virtuous Germanic "tribes" who lived in Northern Middle Europe. (btw, an ancient example of constructing "the other", as there probably never was such an entity as the Germanic people, but rather a mixture of different languages and ethnic groups int he area north of the RE). Against this background, the original stereotype of the "Indianer" is "positive" (charged with values considered as such), but in a very twisted way, and is connected to German national chauvinism as well as ideas about race and gender in the völkisch movement and in Kaiserreich culture as a whole. And, as the phrase "Ein Indianer kennt keinen Schmerz" shows, parts of this survive until today.

Karl May resonates through German popular culture. He was one of the most successful German authors, his books were translated in 33 languages, and the most famous were made into movies (In which Winnetou was played by a french actor...).

Mostly young boys, but also girls read them widely (I was introduced to the books at the age of seven or eight by my female cousin, who had nearly all his books. I loved to visit her and hide in the attic with Karl May). Especially in the former GDR, where his house still stands (a log cabin – May lived the cliché to the full), people loved to live out the image of North America – "Trapper" and "Indianer".

I have to say, I myself loved the books and read many as a boy. Today, however, I cannot understand why, because they are actually really bad. Besides the obvious – they are full of racist stereotypes and clichés, most much worse than Winnetou – they are also really poorly written. Some scenes are extremely drawn out – the hero riding for hours through the desert – and often, the story is interrupted by long lectures about Christianity and Christian morals. The language is declamatory,romantic, very old-fashioned and, frankly, most of the time just pretentious.

I think the German "Indianer" topos is very specific, especially because of the pervasiveness of Karl May's "Winnetou" and the stereotypes he coined. The imagery the ad uses comes probably as much from Hollywood "Reel Injuns" as from Karl May movies, but Native Americans (or rather racist imagery concerning them) are often used in German ads. See for example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN4489BNSDA
(the subtitles read: Son, today is a good day to die. - Hey son, would be cool if you could hook me up whith "Little Flower".)

http://www.die-welt-der-schuhe.de/Artikel/ID/1494/Sioux-startet-mit-neuem-Image-und-bequemen-Schuhen-in-den-Sommer.aspx
(The ad reads: He who is wild, is seldom comfortable. Sioux is an exception. It's for a shoe company named "Sioux" who since the Fifties uses this blatantly racist image as a mascot:
http://www.die-welt-der-schuhe.de/Markenschuhe/Sioux.aspx
and also photos of Native Americans on their packaging.)

Germany is very fascinated by Native Americans, thanks to a series of "Old West" books by German author Karl May. You might be interested in this gallery of German children dressed up as "Indians" for Carnival: http://www.robbinsbecher.com/TonkonowGI.html .