News + Trends

No "Masturbation May" at railway stations: Deutsche Bahn bans Womaniser campaign

4/6/2024

Translation: machine translated

Travelling with Deutsche Bahn remains an unsatisfactory experience: this is not only due to numerous delays, but also to advertising in train stations. For example, DB recently banned a campaign by sex toy manufacturer Womanizer.

Wine on beer, I praise you: a drinking rule that also applies well to the advertising landscape in the urban environment. Harmful content and triggers for (potential) addictions are frequently seen motifs on banners and screens. Not so the topics of masturbation and eroticism. This is illustrated by a recent event. Deutsche Bahn rejected an advertising campaign designed for five Berlin train stations by sex toy manufacturer Womanizer. The reason for this was Masturbation May, which has been celebrated since 1995 to protect the right to masturbation. The advertising campaign featured several vibrators and the phrase "Orgasms: Your sleeping pill without side effects".

This is what the subject of the advertising campaign looked like.
Source: Womanizer

DB does not explain its decision comprehensibly

A meaningful explanation was not given by DB, according to Womanizer. The company merely stated that "the statement in the advert overshoots the mark". A questionable statement in light of the fact that the Womanizer advert draws attention to a study and highlights the sleep-promoting aspect of masturbation. When I asked the DB press office, a railway spokeswoman told me the following: "Deutsche Bahn reserves the right to reject motifs that specifically advertise sexual acts (evaluation of content/wording). It is therefore advisable to submit motifs, which may be borderline cases, in good time in order to guarantee the agreed processing time of five days. In the case of motifs submitted at short notice, as in this case, we tend to reject borderline cases to ensure compliance with the advertising guidelines."

The rejection is therefore based on a short-notice submission. Punctuality has a high priority at Deutsche Bahn, as long as it is not a question of adhering to the timetable. In addition to missed or missed deadlines, sexual education and sexual health issues are not particularly welcome at DB. Instead, they "continue to be censored and stigmatised", says Verena Singmann, Head of PR at Womanizer. The aim of the campaign was to draw attention to an alternative to sleeping pills. She regrets that the advert was not accepted despite its scientific background: "Society needs to be able to talk more openly about sexual wellness without such barriers being put up."

Double standards for advertising content

In response to my enquiry about other incidents, Ms Singmann replied that there had also been problems on Instagram: "Our Womanizer account has already been blocked twice without notice."

Social media likes to taboo sex and eroticism - while promotional videos that show sexism, for example, are offered a platform. One particularly questionable example that recently went viral is the advert for a game called "Project Makeover": In it, a man's violent reaction towards a supposedly unattractive woman is shown. The message is that she only deserves his love after a makeover, including a leg shave. Influencer Louisa Dellert has strongly criticised the ad in a reel: "The suggestion here is that it's okay because it doesn't conform to a certain ideal of beauty and therefore the man is allowed to be annoyed by it."

With the words "Everything about it is wrong," she has called for people to report the adverts whenever they are shown to you on Instagram.

What is considered harmless advertising content and what should be censored is often a paradox. If you are also upset by these twisted morals, it might be worth taking a look at our Womaniser products. They could help you relax. After all, the hormone oxytocin is released during solo sex, which reduces the stress hormone cortisol. The "Womanizer Duo", which provides double stimulation, is particularly popular with our users.