DIE WELT

Nowitzki's 'Wurst' Ad Has German Vegetarians All Riled Up

Dirk Nowitzki has earned himself some Facebook flack over a television commercial he did in his native Germany. Vegetarians are up in arms over the ad, in which the NBA all star makes an open plug for a national delicacy… sausage!

Nowitzki's 'Wurst' Ad Has German Vegetarians All Riled Up
Dirk Nowitzki slam dunking a piece of sausage
DIE WELT/Worldcrunch


*NEWSBITES

Dirk Nowitzki has a new ad out for a German bank that has unleashed a furor on Facebook. The NBA champion's alleged faux pas: eating a healthy slice of sausage.

The ad for the Ing-DiBa bank shows the basketball star visiting a butcher shop while on a trip back to his native Germany. In the shop an elderly lady behind the counter gives Nowitzki a slice of wurst to sample. A propos of wurst-eating she asks him: “What did we always used to say?” she asks the 2.13 meter (7-foot) basketball whiz just as he is about to munch his sausage. “So you grow big and strong,” Nowitzki replies.

First impressions of the ad are that it is folksy and nostalgic. But take a second look and that’s when it hits. What is the butcher shop lady giving the player recently voted German Athlete of the Year? Wurst! Dead and ground-up animal! It was enough to unleash a barrage of complaints by vegetarians on the bank’s Facebook page. The bank responded by appealing to followers to deal with the issue with the “greatest possible respect.”

If only Nowitzki had stayed with his old ad, which showed him throwing coffee beans into glasses. Although – if you think about that… Don’t coffee beans have feelings too?

Read the full article in German by Lars Wallrodt

Photo - Youtube

*Newsbites are digest items, not direct translations

Read more from DIE WELT.

All rights reserved ©Worldcrunch - in partnership with DIE WELT

comments powered by Disqus
DIE WELT


comments powered by Disqus



Thanks so much for reading Worldcrunch

We had fun making this video for you!

Please register to continue reading

Your Name
Your email address
Enter new password
Repeat new password
Choose a newsletter:

Worldcrunch This Week
Worldcrunch whileUslept

Connect to your Facebook Account
×

You have reached your limit of free stories

Please subscribe to continue reading




See my options



Only Worldcrunch offers:


Unique perspectives and exclusive reportages

Award-winning foreign language journalism in English for the first time

Understanding of the world from all angles





What readers say:


'Eye-opener'

'Original, Insightful'

'Quick and Quirky'

Your premium access to Worldcrunch is provided by

University of Central Lancashire

Please register to begin

Your Name
Your email address
Enter new password
Repeat new password
Choose a newsletter:

Worldcrunch This Week
Worldcrunch whileUslept

Connect to your Facebook Account