VW to revamp marketing controls after racist video

FRANKFURT -- Volkswagen Group vowed to tighten internal marketing controls but stopped short of removing executives and severing ties with agencies after causing an uproar with a video showing a black man being controlled by a giant white hand.

The world’s largest automaker will step up controls of marketing content and improve training of its personnel to prevent a repeat of the furor caused by the Instagram clip last month, officials said Thursday.

“Despite our diverse and international teams, a racist video was produced,” VW brand sales and marketing chief Juergen Stackmann said during a briefing with journalists to present the results of the company’s investigation into the affair. “It seems very clear that, apart from mistakes in the process chain, there were also shortcomings in creating sensitivity among employees.”