Volkswagon ad

BigSlideHimself · Post by **BigSlideHimself** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 2:11 am

http://www.boreme.com/bm/JAN05/a/vw-sui ... ber/fr.htm

Lothar · Post by **Lothar** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 3:45 am

I thought from the name this would be horribly insensitive... but man, that was funny.

DCrazy · Post by **DCrazy** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 5:22 am

I dunno, I found it distasteful and not even funny. I smirked when the car just kinda rocked but other than that it was not laughatable.

Eagle132 · Post by **Eagle132** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 5:52 am

DCrazy wrote:I dunno, I found it distasteful and not even funny. I smirked when the car just kinda rocked but other than that it was not laughatable.

agreed.

CDN_Merlin · Post by **CDN_Merlin** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 6:58 am

Eagle132 wrote:
DCrazy wrote:I dunno, I found it distasteful and not even funny. I smirked when the car just kinda rocked but other than that it was not laughatable.
agreed.

x2

JMEaT · Post by **JMEaT** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 10:06 am

Unix · Post by **Unix** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 10:25 am

I think if they had showed the bomber afterwards with a "Yosemite Sam" toasted look it would've been funnier.

BUBBALOU · Post by **BUBBALOU** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 11:04 am

typical euro trash

Tyranny · Post by **Tyranny** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 11:12 am

I thought it was funny. Too bad they don't actually make cars that do that

BigSlideHimself · Post by **BigSlideHimself** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 11:22 am

Well, if you found that car ad distasteful, don't click this link:

http://www.jugglingcats.com/ford1.htm

woodchip · Post by **woodchip** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 12:12 pm

I loved it

Foil · Post by **Foil** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 12:57 pm

Eagle132 wrote:
DCrazy wrote:I dunno, I found it distasteful and not even funny. I smirked when the car just kinda rocked but other than that it was not laughatable.
agreed.

x3 It's only funny if you subscribe to the stereotypes it plays on.

Lothar · Post by **Lothar** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 1:11 pm

Foil wrote:It's only funny if you subscribe to the stereotypes it plays on.

Or if you just happen to think it's funny... you could've made it Tim McVeigh driving under the Oklahoma City building and it still would've been funny, just because the result was totally unexpected.

Foil · Post by **Foil** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 2:25 pm

Lothar wrote:
Foil wrote:It's only funny if you subscribe to the stereotypes it plays on.
Or if you just happen to think it's funny... you could've made it Tim McVeigh driving under the Oklahoma City building and it still would've been funny, just because the result was totally unexpected.

No, I can say with absolute certainty that seeing it with an "Oklahoma City / Tim McVeigh" twist would be insensitive; specifically, to those who were personally affected by the event you so casually make reference to.

You know why I can say that? Because I was there!!

Yeah, I live in Oklahoma City. I was only a couple of miles away at 9:02am on April 19, 1995.

The force of the blast was enough to bounce the roof above my younger brother's head. I have friends, co-workers, and even former students who lost loved ones in that building. To this day, the sight of the survivor tree and the memorial where the Murrah building once stood evokes almost overwhelming emotion for me.

You must to be more careful about what you say, sometimes... (I know, that goes for me, as well.)

Note: I'm sorry if this post is a bit too passionate for this forum. I just had to vent some frustration.

CDN_Merlin · Post by **CDN_Merlin** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 2:51 pm

Obviously neither him nor the makers of the commericial thought about the people who are affected by this type of tragedy everyday.

Commercials are getting more and more(whats the word I'm looking for?) distasteful.

Unix · Post by **Unix** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 3:01 pm

But if you look at it from an executive's point of view. Yeah, it's not the most tasteful commercial on tv right now, but it does accomplish it's mission of sticking in the viewers mind.

BigSlideHimself · Post by **BigSlideHimself** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 3:01 pm

I remember a day after 9/11, Marvel made this cartoon of the Hulk standing on top of Ground Zero, holding an American flag and pissed as hell. I remember alot of people were upset saying Marvel was insensitive. I didn't get it. As corny as it sounds, seeing the Hulk pissed in full-Hulking mode made me feel a little better, like those bastards were really going to get what was coming to them.

I agree that this commercial might recall unpleasant events for some, but maybe it'll allow a little relief for others. Or maybe, it'll just be plain hilarious to the rest of us.

DCrazy · Post by **DCrazy** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 4:15 pm

The Hulk standing on top of Ground Zero was meant to depict American resilience. This commercial was meant to trivialize car bombings into a humorous device to be used to sell a car. BIG difference.

Foil: I don't see any stereotypes in play here. There was no "Praise Allah!" or anything like that. Sure the guy looked like the 1337 Krew model from Counter-Strike (in other words, he looked Middle Eastern) but that's fundamental to driving the plot of the commercial, because it contains no words.

BigSlideHimself · Post by **BigSlideHimself** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 4:27 pm

Maybe you missed my point, which I summed up toward the end of my post: people react differently after a tragedy. The Hulk example and the commercial share one thing in common: expression. How people react to said expression depends entirely on their own outlooks.

Foil · Post by **Foil** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 4:45 pm

DCrazy wrote:Foil: I don't see any stereotypes in play here.
...(he looked Middle Eastern)...

That's the stereotype I was referring to (the "Middle-Eastern car-bombing type").

I can see the humor in the commercial, and why some people might find it funny; but I personally didn't.

DCrazy · Post by **DCrazy** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 4:55 pm

I don't see it as a stereotype for the reason I posted. It clues you in to what's going on and evokes vivid memories without using words. It's not trying to say "all Middle Easterners are car bombers".

Lothar · Post by **Lothar** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 5:31 pm

Foil wrote:I can say with absolute certainty that seeing it with an "Oklahoma City / Tim McVeigh" twist would be insensitive; specifically, to those who were personally affected by the event you so casually make reference to.

You know why I can say that? Because I was there!!

That would make you the first of the many people I know who were "there" who would find such a thing insensitive, at least in a car commercial.

You can say for sure that you personally would find it insensitive -- but what about the community as a whole? Would most of "those who were personally affected" react the same as you did?

You must to be more careful about what you say, sometimes...

I prefer not to walk around on eggshells, myself. I don't live my life worrying that somebody *might* get offended by what I say. If I find I'm consistantly causing someone serious distress, I'll probably back off, but I'd rather be direct and have to apologize than be afraid to speak.

I'm pretty sure that's where the marketing execs are coming from, too. The commercial is hilarious to a lot of people. It might offend a few, but probably not many and not badly... and if it causes too big a controversy, you pull the ad and apologize. But 99% of the time, whatever controversy an ad like this creates is just enough to give it wider publicity, and nobody is really too upset.

Obviously neither him nor the makers of the commericial thought about...

Obviously you're not a telepath.

I thought about those people, and most likely the ad execs did as well (you don't get big enough to make commercials for VW if you ignore such basic considerations.) I just didn't find it to be a big enough consideration to hold back my words, and they didn't find it a big enough consideration to hold back their ad. Yeah, somebody *might* get offended -- and with a wide viewership, it's almost certain somebody will -- but a lot of people will be entertained. Maybe it'll backfire and blow up in their face*and they'll decide it best to pull the ad (similarly, maybe enough people will flame me that I'll decide not to laugh at the commercial), but chances are, it'll be funny for a while and sell some cars for a while, and overall it'll be more positive than negative.

*no pun was intended here, and with people already a little on edge I thought about changing this wording, but I couldn't think of anything better.

Boo · Post by **Boo** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 6:08 pm

I liked it.

Beowulf · Post by **Beowulf** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 9:51 pm

The most distasteful thing about it was that I need Quicktime.

Top Gun · Post by **Top Gun** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 10:01 pm

Hell, I just wish it were true. Be a great way of getting rid of those bastards.

Lobber · Post by **Lobber** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 10:51 pm

Why haven't we had an "Acecombatish" response regarding the cat x car video?

Top Gun · Post by **Top Gun** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 10:59 pm

Hey, you mentioned it, not us.

Speaking of that, has anyone seen the pigeon one of the same variety? Good stuff.

KompresZor · Post by **KompresZor** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 8:35 am

I thought it was funny

suicide eddie · Post by **suicide eddie** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 9:01 am

(Why haven't we had an "Acecombatish" response regarding the cat x car video?)

as far as we know ace is only into live ones

Dedman · Post by **Dedman** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 9:59 am

I like it. We finally have a car lets a suicide bomber kill himself and yet it protects the public at the same time.

BRILLIANT!

Pun · Post by **Pun** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 10:58 am

We should just get it over with now and merge this whole fvkin BB into one big E & C forum. Geeze.

Iceman · Post by **Iceman** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 11:10 am

Beowulf wrote:The most distasteful thing about it was that I need Quicktime.

X2

Dedman · Post by **Dedman** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 11:17 am

Hey Punisher, nice avatar.

MD-2389 · Post by **MD-2389** » Fri Jan 21, 2005 12:59 am

Iceman wrote:
Beowulf wrote:The most distasteful thing about it was that I need Quicktime.
X2

Media Player Classic is your friend.

As for those that found this video offensive, thats why programmers invented the back and close window buttons. I mean seriously, this video was pretty damn tame and made fun of the suicide bombers at the same time. I've seen much worse on network television in the daytime.

This video is definitely worthy of an owned picture.

Ferno · Post by **Ferno** » Fri Jan 21, 2005 1:03 am

I have a middle eastern friend. would you consider him to be a suicide bomber if you looked at him?

MD-2389 · Post by **MD-2389** » Fri Jan 21, 2005 1:17 am

Ferno wrote:I have a middle eastern friend. would you consider him to be a suicide bomber if you looked at him?

Umm...no. Where the hell did that logic train come from?

Avder · Post by **Avder** » Fri Jan 21, 2005 1:34 am

the Volkswagon ad was hilarious, the Ford one just made me stare at the screen with a "wtf" look on my face for 30 seconds.

Top Gun · Post by **Top Gun** » Fri Jan 21, 2005 2:12 am

Ferno wrote:I have a middle eastern friend. would you consider him to be a suicide bomber if you looked at him?

Ferno, you've been making comments like this quite a bit recently. Why do you assume that the rest of us will automatically equate "suicide bomber/terrorist" with "Middle Easterner/Muslim"?

Ferno · Post by **Ferno** » Fri Jan 21, 2005 3:03 am

MD, here's your answer:

Foil wrote:That's the stereotype I was referring to (the "Middle-Eastern car-bombing type").

Top gun: just answer the question instead of misunderstanding and trying to spin it around.

Sirius · Post by **Sirius** » Fri Jan 21, 2005 4:30 am

With the news that gets out, sometimes one would think all Palestinians are suicide bombers.

But their population is bigger than that, I'm sure.

Nonetheless. I found the ad amusing, at least. It wasn't completely unexpected, but that didn't matter.