Germany's Volkswagen has pulled a social media ad for a new car and apologized after an outcry over its racist overtones.
The ten-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 for a brief moment.Volkswagen told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the video had been pulled and that "we can understand the outrage and anger."
"Without question: the video is inappropriate and tasteless," Volkswagen wrote. "We will clarify how something like this could happen, and there will be consequences." The Wolfsburg-based automaker, founded under the Nazis to produce "the people's car," said that given its history it has always sought to "position itself against all forms of racism, xenophobia and discrimination."
"Many initiatives in the company and in our global workforce promote diversity, integration and unprejudiced co-operation," Volkswagen said. "That makes it all the more annoying that we made this mistake."
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Provocateur artist Kent Monkman apologizes for painting depicting sex assaultCree artist famous for scenes depicting violence against Indigenous people caused social-media storm with release of recent work
Read more »
Alberta gears up for another legal battle over Keystone XL after Biden vows to pull permissionsNext U.S. president has the power to force TC Energy to dig up the pipeline, says one legal scholar
Read more »
Canadian universities under fire for publishing Hong Kong police recruitment adsActivists are urging the universities to take down the ads for the Hong Kong Police Force, arguing it is discredited for acts of violence against pro-democracy protesters
Read more »
Walmart shares jump after sales soar on consumer stockpiling and online shiftBut retailer pulls its forecast for the full-year due to the uncertainty to its business caused by the pandemic
Read more »
Maryland mom left her two children in car while she went into nail salon: policeA Baltimore County mom has been charged after leaving her two children in the car while she was in a nail salon, police say.
Read more »