Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: Backing Up the Volkswagen

"Volkswagen Super Bowl ad generates backlash" by Mae Anderson  |  Associated Press, January 30, 2013

NEW YORK — The first pregame Super Bowl ad controversy of the year has arrived.

A Volkswagen Super Bowl ad that hit the Web on Monday and depicts a white office worker showing his happiness with a Jamaican accent is stirring up online controversy.

The ad shows a worker from Minnesota trying to cheer up co-workers in an accent often associated with black Jamaicans, because he has been made so happy by his Volkswagen. Pundits on NBC’s ‘‘Today Show’’ a Wall Street Journal blog, and elsewhere have questioned whether the ad is offensive.

It’s a rare case of negative buzz for Volkswagen....

But despite the media outcry, most comments surrounding the ad appeared to be positive....

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