Is this vw superbowl ad offensive

hi all

I saw thia on cnn,and people are sayin its racist,and it might get pulled.. I watched it and thought it was just funny

why the hell are people so sensitive
startingpoint.blogs.cnn.com...

Sure the "Super Bowl" is all about letting the best football team of the year really shine, but for folks watching at home it's all about the commercials.

Volkswagon is responsible for some of the most memorable Super Bowl ads of the past two years, including 2011's "The Force" featuring little Darth Vader. Last year's "The Dog Strikes Back" followed up on the success, watching a pooch with big dreams of chasing a car.

This morning, Volkswagen reveals their 2013 Super Bowl ad exclusively on "Starting Point." VW America's Tim Mahoney talks with Soledad O'Brien about the inspiration for the ad.

The ad features a man interacting around an office setting with a Jamaican accent, who then gets into a Volkswagen with other colleagues to find their 'happy.' The song 'Come On, Get Happy' plays in the background

reply to post by goou111


I laughed all the way through. I'm sorry but I don't see that as racist at all.

Free love, one love...



Pssst...your avatar is funny too....

yeah, definitely not offensive.

LOL

That was great!!!!

Has anyone really said it was racist?
More likely is VW put that out there to get some free publicity.

Totally harmless and good fun

Well to answer the question in the title. Nope. Not offensive. If using an accent in a commercial is all it takes for something to be offensive, then we really are in a pc crap hole.

BTW...I don't even think it's funny and a disappointment after what they have done in the past. (lil Darth Vader is a classic)

Originally posted by IkNOwSTuff
LOL

That was great!!!!

Has anyone really said it was racist?
More likely is VW put that out there to get some free publicity.

Totally harmless and good fun

After the interview, "New York Times" columnist Charles Blow weighs in on the ad, saying he didn't like it and the Jamaican accent was "like blackface with voices."

www.theatlanticwire.com...

As Super Bowl ads start to trickle online in anticipation of Super Sunday, one spot is already facing a wave of criticism that could lead to its being pulled off the air during the big game. The ad comes from Volkswagen, a company
that has made waves on Super Sunday for the past two years by way of adorable dogs and small Darth Vaders. This year, the German auto maker's commercial features a man from Minnesota speaking in a Jamaican accent:

The controversy got its start on CNN yesterday when Jamaican-born Christopher John Farley of the Wall Street Journal said: "Although I love you featuring Jimmy Cliff in the ad, a terrific Jamaican performance, the Jamaican accent did sort of strike me as Jar Jar Binks-ish." The New York Times's Charles Blow had a more intense reaction, saying the accent was "like blackface with voices." The commercial was discussed this morning on the Today show and their "ad expert" Barbara Lippert, the editor-at-large of MediaPost.com, said "this is so racist."

VW America Chief Marketing Officer Tim Mahoney has been defending the ad on CNN: "We did our homework to make sure we weren't offensive so we did some research to make sure we didn't go in a direction we didn't want to go." Additionally, Mahoney explained that they VW marketers talked to about 100 Jamaicans in the research phase and had a speech coach on hand. And there isn't unanimous outrage: On CNN, Soledad O'Brien said she liked it, the Today show couch was divided on opinion, and people on Twitter have been standing up for the ad:

We are living in a society where every one is super-sensitive, wearing their emotions on their sleeve and are always looking for something that they can claim is offensive to gays or minority groups.
I dont even worry about it, its stupid.

After the interview, "New York Times" columnist Charles Blow weighs in on the ad, saying he didn't like it and the Jamaican accent was "like blackface with voices."

After reading the above quote "Above Top Secret" member IkNOwSTuff weighs in on Charles Blows comments, saying what a whiny little PC biatch. He needs to be told to lighten up while getting "a good slap to the back of the head"

Inna Toronto, 'nuff man dey a chat. Seen?

Up here, there's a huge carribean population. If you don't have at least 5 Jamaicans, 2 Trinis, a Bajan & some Guyanese in your circle of friends- you don't get out much. Guess what ethnic groups they encompass? All of them. There are black Jamaicans, white, asian, indian, native.

The only racist comment in the commercial was at the end. A "boss man", was the overseer in the fields back in slave times.

So if a Black Jamaican person was in this commercial talking without any accent like a standard american white person.. Then it would also be racist right? And there are no white people from Jamaica or with a Jamaican accent?

Its only racist or offensive if you are:

An idiot
Have no sense of humor
Are a racist yourself
Always need something to complain about
Have personality disorder


They are playing off the fact that Jamaican people are very laid back and usually pretty happy, which most of them are from what I have seen. And that when you drive in the new VW bug it makes you feel carefree and happy. To quote a famous Jamaican singer. "Don't worry, Be happy" Take his advice and stop sweating the small stuff that doesn't matter like car commercial for a crappy car that only teenage girls, old women, and gay guys drive.

Do not see how this could possibly offend some-one its hilarious. A very good advert.

I am not Jamaican so I cannot tell if that would be offensive to me or not.

I do however wonder what is in that car, that might make you talk Jamaican, not worry and just get happy. But I am not allowed to speculate on ATS...

I think its great.

In the end when they rolled down the windows? There should have been a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge cloud of smoke coming out.

I can't see how someone can say this is racist, though I did notice when asked twice about the Jamaican accent the spokesman seemed to side step the question and talk about the car making people happy.

reply to post by goou111


It's a little insensitive, but after all , that's the power of GERMAN engineering. I expect nothing less.