Volkswagen
Volkswagon or shortened to VW is a German automaker founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front, known for the iconic Beetle and headquartered in Wolfsburg. It is the flagship brand of the Volkswagen Group. The German term Volk translates to "people", thus Volkswagen translates to "people's car".[1]
Volkswagen, which also makes vehicles under the Audi, Skoda, Seat and Porsche brands, is the world's largest carmaker, delivering nearly 11 million vehicles in 2019.
The company was founded in 1937 under the Nazi regime and used slave labor from concentration camps to build vehicles in its early years. In 1998, surviving workers sued the company, which established a compensation fund.[2]
VW Golf Instagram ad
VW published a (now deleted) 10-second clip of an ad on Instagram, promoting its new Golf. The ad followed an interracial couple in Argentina and mimicked the style of a recent Tik-Tok trend. The clip shows the disembodied giant hand of a white woman pushing around a black man before flicking him into a cafe called "Petit Colon" over a soundtrack of a woman's laughter, upbeat music, and comedic sound effects. The cafe is an actual location in Buenos Aires near the Teatro Colon, a theatre named after Christopher Columbus.[3]
Controversy
The ad drew backlash for its depiction of a huge white hand picking up and flicking a Black man away from a yellow Volkswagen Golf. The man is then pushed into a restaurant called Petit Colon, which translates to "Little Settler" or "Little Colonist."[4] Some claimed that the white hand is also seen giving what looks like a white power salute. And then the 'Der neue Golf' ('The new Golf') tagline seems to fade to reveal what is all-too close to the N***er in German.[5]
The company took down the ad shortly after it was posted, issuing an apology and vowing an investigation.
Clarification
After being heavily criticised, VW initially responded by saying that the "origin of the people depicted is irrelevant" and that the firm opposed "all forms of racism, xenophobia and discrimination."
"As you can imagine, we are surprised and shocked that our Instagram story could be so misunderstood," the company added.
However, the statement and the withdrawal of the ad only served to prompt a second barrage of criticism that Volkswagen was neither taking responsibility nor truly apologizing for the clip.
Later, reacting to the further outrage, VW issued a more comprehensive apology, saying "without doubt: The video was wrong and tasteless," and that it understood why people were upset by it.
"We distance ourselves from this and apologize," they said, promising consequences and an investigation.[6]
The apology comes days after the Volkswagen Group, which owns several car brands including Audi, Lamborghini, Porsche, and VW, announced that its CEO, Herbert Diess, would give up his position as head of the VW brand. He will stay on as head of the group, while fellow VW brand executive, Ralf Brandstätter, will assume the role of CEO.[7]
References
- ↑ Volkswagon. Retrieved on December 26, 2020.
- ↑ Riley, Charles & Ziady, Hanna (2020). Volkswagen made a racist ad. Here's why no one got fired. Retrieved on December 26, 2020.
- ↑ Espiner, Tom (2020). VW pulls Instagram ads after racism row. Retrieved on December 26, 2020.
- ↑ Levin, Tim (2020). Volkswagen apologizes for Instagram ad, saying 'racist intentions did not play any role' in its production. Retrieved on December 26, 2020.
- ↑ Coggan, Georgia (2020). Was Volkswagen's racist ad a deliberate act of sabotage?. Retrieved on December 26, 2020.
- ↑ DW (2020). Volkswagen pulls ad, apologizes for racist overtones. Retrieved on December 26, 2020.
- ↑ Levin, Tim (2020). Volkswagen apologizes for Instagram ad, saying 'racist intentions did not play any role' in its production. Retrieved on December 26, 2020.