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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forumsoutrage over this Volkswagen ad.. "massive white hand pushing black man away from" new car
Link to tweet
Germany's Volkswagen has pulled a social media ad for a new car and apologized after an outcry over its racist overtones. The 10-second spot posted on Instagram and Twitter shows a massive white hand pushing a black man away from beside a new yellow Volkswagen Golf parked on the street, then moving him to an open doorway and flicking him inside a French cafe. Commentators on social media also noted that as the German-language slogan "Der Neue Golf" ("The New Golf" fades into view, the jumble of letters can be read as a racial slur (the n-word in German, per the Telegraph) for a brief moment. And the cafe's name is Petit Colon, which in French literally means the "Little Colonist."
Volkswagen addressed the outrage on Instagram, reports the Telegraph, writing that the "origin of the people depicted is irrelevant" and that the company was against "all forms of racism, xenophobia, and discrimination. ... As you can imagine, we are surprised and shocked that our Instagram story could be so misunderstood." Volkswagen told the AP on Wednesday that the video had been pulled and that "we can understand the outrage and anger." It continued, "Without question: The video is inappropriate and tasteless. We will clarify how something like this could happen, and there will be consequences." (VW had a similar ad issue in 2013.)
https://www.newser.com/story/291171/a-10-second-volkswagen-ad-spurs-outrage.html?utm_source=part&utm_medium=uol&utm_campaign=rss_world_img_b
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outrage over this Volkswagen ad.. "massive white hand pushing black man away from" new car (Original Post)
Demovictory9
May 2020
OP
Just seems stupid, but I know advertising is a science and no doubt it's meaningful in Germany.
captain queeg
May 2020
#5
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)1. This description misses the most eyebrow raising feature of the commercial
Watch the hand just prior to the person being flicked into the doorway.
Pretty clear.
crickets
(25,983 posts)8. Yep. There it is. nt
Aristus
(66,462 posts)2. A while back, VW's slogan, regarding gas mileage, was
"From Berlin To Warsaw On One Tank."
Monumentally tone-deaf, that one...
qwlauren35
(6,150 posts)3. What was the point of the ad?
I don't get it.
irisblue
(33,023 posts)4. Oh Boy,.
And when I see other countries racism, it still is damn bad.
captain queeg
(10,242 posts)5. Just seems stupid, but I know advertising is a science and no doubt it's meaningful in Germany.
Kitchari
(2,168 posts)6. Holy Crap
that is reprehensible
ironflange
(7,781 posts)7. Jeez, WTF were they thinking?
Igel
(35,356 posts)9. I assume there's some pun involving "golf"
but I don't see it.
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)11. The video clip starts in the middle
So, whether it started as some kind of video game or something, who knows?
cally
(21,596 posts)10. My jaw dropped
I thought I couldnt be shocked but I was. Same company that lied about gas mileage. NEVER BUY A VOLKSWAGEN!!