“I love Wank”
Advertising banned at the Ski World Cup – too ambiguous
Updated on January 16, 2025 – 09:17 amReading time: 2 minutes
It was supposed to be a homage to the Wank, Garmisch’s local mountain. But advertising by the organizer for the Ski World Cup has now been banned.
At the end of January, the world’s best female ski racers will race down the Kandahar slope in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The men also want to prove themselves on one of the most demanding routes in the Alpine Ski World Cup at the beginning of February. Before the World Cup, however, the focus is not only on sport. Garmisch wanted to highlight its own region with an advertisement – but the slogan is now banned by the International Ski Federation (FIS).
The advertising slogan was: “I love Wank”. What was meant was Garmisch’s local mountain, Wank. However, those responsible for the World Cup had probably not taken into account that the English word “wank” is translated as a vulgar expression for masturbation. Therefore, the FIS does not want to see the banner hanging everywhere at the World Cup in Garmisch – and the slogan should not appear in the TV broadcast either.
Martina Betz, head of the organizing committee in Garmisch, said when asked by “Münchner Merkur”: “I love this mountain and this saying.” However, she agrees with the FIS that the saying could be misunderstood. She doesn’t want to show “sexual language logic”, but instead wants to present Garmisch as a positive World Cup destination to viewers on site and on television.
Klaus Schanda, the sales and marketing manager of the Bavarian Zugspitzbahn (BZB), is sad about the ban. He emphasized at the “Münchner Merkur”: “I would have attributed a little more humor to the association.”
The sales and marketing manager has clear goals: The television presence during the World Cup should not only bring skiing into the conversation, but also Mount Wank. Although he remained cautious about the exact costs of the advertising campaigns, he confirmed to the “Münchner Merkur” that the BZB is paying for them. “Then I would like to promote what we as a company consider to be useful,” Schanda continued. However, the slogan “I love Wank” will not be visible at the end of the month.