Ski World Cup in Garmisch FIS bans raunchy "I Love Wank" advertising
A heart and a "Wank": this is how the Zugspitzbahn wanted to advertise at the Ski World Cup.
Image: dpa
The Kandahar downhill run is a classic in the Alpine Ski World Cup.
Image: dpa
A heart and a "Wank": this is how the Zugspitzbahn wanted to advertise at the Ski World Cup.
Image: dpa
The Kandahar downhill run is a classic in the Alpine Ski World Cup.
Image: dpa
The Zugspitzbahn prepared an ambiguous advertising campaign for the Ski World Cup in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The world federation FIS prohibits this. It's about a mountain with - for Anglo-Saxons - a disreputable name.
16.01.2025, 10:32
dpa
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- The organizers of the upcoming Ski World Cup races in Garmisch-Partenkirchen wanted to advertise with the slogan "I love Wank".
- This refers to the Wank mountain. In British English, however, the name is a vulgar term for masturbation.
- The world federation FIS has now thwarted the plans.
This advertising campaign was a little too ambiguous for the World Ski Federation. The FIS has banned the World Cup organizers in Garmisch-Partenkirchen from displaying the slogan "I love Wank" on the slopes during the upcoming women's and men's ski races.
What for the people of Partenkirchen is a declaration of love for their local mountain, the Wank, reads more slippery in British English: "Wank" is a vulgar expression for masturbation.
And this should not be broadcast to the world on TV when alpine stars such as Marco Odermatt or Lindsey Vonn race down into the valley in the Upper Bavarian ski resort.
OC boss wants "no sexual language logic"
The organizers confirmed a report in the Münchner Merkur newspaper that the FIS had spoken out against the advertising. OC boss Martina Betz told the newspaper: "I love this mountain and this slogan." However, she agrees with the FIS that such an action is out of place in the context of World Cup races. She did not want to show "sexual language logic", but a positive image of the Garmisch organizers and partners, said Betz.
The advertising, which is carved into the snow on the legendary Kandahar slope, is captured prominently by cameras and drones and seen by millions of sports fans internationally. A women's downhill and super-G will take place on January 25 and 26; on February 2, it will be the men's turn with a downhill.
The Scots had their fun with the Wank
Klaus Schanda, Head of Sales and Marketing at the Bayerische Zugspitzbahn, regrets the decision. "I would have attributed a little more humor to the association," he said in the "Merkur" in the direction of the FIS.
He believes that this type of advertising is successful and refers to the 2024 European Football Championships: at that time, Scots were at a training camp in Garmisch-Partenkirchen; the fans and reporters from the island had fun with the local mountain with the - for them - indecent name.