Netflix Pulls A ‘Santa Clarita Diet’ Billboard That Germans Can’t Stomach

Netflix’s sly promotional rollout for Drew Barrymore’s Santa Clarita Diet is apparently turning stomachs in Germany. Let’s see why, shall we? *cranes head upward* Hmm… It’s not exactly a gaggle of Minions or that smug insurance gecko, now is it?

The Berliner Tagesspiegel reports that the country’s nationwide billboard campaign for the streaming comedy has been yanked over its cute cannibal marketing strategy. The sight of a human take on currywurst was considered “disgusting” by a portion of public that were moved to complain about the advertisement. Over 50 complaints were made to the country’s ad regulator over the Santa Clarita Diet imagery (described as “offensive to children and young people, fear-evoking, and disgusting”) and when those complaints were passed along to Netflix, the company chose to pull the controversial campaign in Germany. We imagine the decision to pair the billboards with currywurst stands didn’t score points with its opponents either.

Netflix has leaned in hard showcasing the gory culinary secret driving the fronted comedy, so it’s a weirdly compelling to see which markets and what things prompt pushback. I live in Toronto and we’ve had Drew Barrymore gnawing on a foot above the mall for what seems like ages now. Consider Germany a pass for any Itchy & Scratchy style billboard gags in the near future.

(Via Yahoo! Finance/Business Insider)

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