Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Automotive News
  • Automobilwoche
  • Automotive News Canada
  • Automotive News China
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters
  • Login
  • HOME
    • Latest news
    • Automakers
    • Suppliers
    • New Product
    • Environment/Emissions
    • Sales By Market
    • On The Move
    • Auto Shows
    • Munich Auto Show
    • Geneva Auto Show
    • Paris Auto Show
    • Beijing Auto Show
    • Shanghai Auto Show
  • Features
    • Long Read
    • Interview of the Month
    • Focus on Electrification
    • Focus on Technology
    • Segment Analysis
    • Cars & Concepts
    • Supplier Spotlight
    • Europe By The Numbers
  • Opinion
    • Blogs
    • Commentary
    • Guest columnists
  • Photos
    • Photo Galleries
    • Geneva Photo Gallery
    • Beijing Photo Gallery
    • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
    • Paris Photo Gallery
    • Shanghai Photo Gallery
  • Podcasts
  • Car Cutaways
  • EVENTS
    • ANE Congress
    • ANE Rising Stars
    • ANE Eurostars
  • More
    • Publishing Partners
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
    • Media Kit
    • About Us
    • Capgemini: All or nothing: Why circular business models require a holistic approach
    • Capgemini: Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
    • Capgemini: Securing the industry's future through a radical rethink
    • Capgemini: Succeeding with the automated driving journey through AI
    • Capgemini: The circular economy is spurring new thinking on EV batteries
    • Capgemini: Toyota and Capgemini leaders on how OEMs can handle industry changes and succeed
    • HEXAGON: Plugging into data is the only way to make winning EVs
    • TUV Rheinland: Ideas, services and certifications for smart mobility
    • TUV Rheinland: Testing of automated and autonomous vehicles on test tracks
    • Toyota Europe
    • UFI Filters
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Automakers
June 11, 2020 07:28 AM

VW to revamp marketing controls after racist video

Chris Reiter and Christoph Rauwald
Bloomberg
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Volkswagen logo

    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.”

    The clip produced by Omnicom Group’s Berlin-based subsidiary, Voltage, sparked widespread criticism and tensions within the company. The German automaker’s powerful labor representatives called it a “low point” and demanded an overhaul of social-media marketing.

    The short video is rife with racist overtones. It shows a man with dark skin moved around like a marionette by a large white hand, which flips him into the entrance of the Petit Colon cafe in Buenos Aires, evoking images of colonialism.

    Letters that spell a pejorative German word for people of color briefly appear on screen before filling out to display the slogan for the new Golf. Some critics have noted that the hand appears to show a white-power signal.

    The campaign to promote the new version of VW’s top-selling, the Golf, is the largest in the company’s history and includes more than 200 elements designed for social media. The clip was part of a series of five videos that center around a mixed-race couple playing tricks on one another. VW said it failed to notice the racial connotations of the clip.

    “No one from the team realized that flicking away a person is inappropriate on its own -- and racist in the context shown,” VW Chief Marketing Officer Jochen Sengpiehl said. “We must apologize for that, with no ifs and buts. And ensure that something like it can never happen again.”

    Sengpiehl said the letters before the slogan were chosen at random by a graphics program, and the English version was considered unproblematic.

    VW pulled the clip last month and apologized for it after the company’s initial response stoked further anger as it appeared to downplay the message of the video as a misunderstanding. Other marketing elements have been pulled as the company reviews its campaigns.

    Volkswagen has been struggling to restore its image after the 2015 diesel-cheating scandal, despite a range of initiatives to promote integrity and diversity. Setbacks include VW’s financing of controversial tests that involved exposing monkeys to exhaust fumes.

    Volkswagen is highly exposed to racial criticism given its roots as a project by the Nazis to create a people’s car, which ultimately became the VW Beetle. Last year, CEO Herbert Diess apologized for evoking a Nazi slogan during an internal management meeting. At the time, Diess said "EBIT macht frei" before apologizing for the comments and explaining he in no way wanted to draw a comparison to the Nazi-era slogan "Arbeit macht frei," which appeared on the gates of the Auschwitz and Dachau concentration camps during the Holocaust.

    EBIT refers to a company's earnings before interest and taxes and Diess had sought to emphasize that Volkswagen's operational freedom would increase with higher profitability.

    Hiltrud Werner, VW’s management-board member for integrity and legal affairs, said on the same call on Thursday that an investigation into the video found no evidence of racial motives. While she didn’t rule out personnel consequences, she said there would be “no sacrificial lamb.”

    “Integrity also means that we as managers and as a company stand by our employees even when mistakes were made,” she said.

    Reuters contributed to this report

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Mercedes set to invest billions in German, Chinese and Hungarian plants
    Recommended for You
    Mercedes A-Class production Rastatt wheel
    Mercedes set to invest billions in German, Chinese and Hungarian plants
    Volkswagen VW Russia Kaluga factory
    VW sees all its Russian assets frozen by court
    Audi e-tron at 2022 Wuhan auto show
    Audi seeks to catch up in China in test of Germany's automotive grit
    Sign up for free newsletters
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get Free Newsletters

    Sign up and get the best of Automotive News Europe delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    SUBSCRIBE TODAY

    Get 24/7 access to in-depth, authoritative coverage of the auto industry from a global team of reporters and editors covering the news that’s vital to your business.

    SUBSCRIBE NOW
    Connect with Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Instagram

    Founded in 1996, Automotive News Europe is the preferred information source for decision-makers and opinion leaders operating in Europe.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI  48207-2997
    Tel: +1 877-812-1584

    Email Us

    ISSN 2643-6590 (print)
    ISSN 2643-6604 (online)

     

    Resources
    • About us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Awards
    • Rising Stars
    • Eurostars
    • Leading Women
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Automotive News Europe
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • HOME
      • Latest news
      • Automakers
      • Suppliers
      • New Product
      • Environment/Emissions
      • Sales By Market
      • On The Move
      • Auto Shows
        • Munich Auto Show
        • Geneva Auto Show
        • Paris Auto Show
        • Beijing Auto Show
        • Shanghai Auto Show
    • Features
      • Long Read
      • Interview of the Month
      • Focus on Electrification
      • Focus on Technology
      • Segment Analysis
      • Cars & Concepts
      • Supplier Spotlight
      • Europe By The Numbers
    • Opinion
      • Blogs
      • Commentary
      • Guest columnists
    • Photos
      • Photo Galleries
      • Geneva Photo Gallery
      • Beijing Photo Gallery
      • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
      • Paris Photo Gallery
      • Shanghai Photo Gallery
    • Podcasts
    • Car Cutaways
    • EVENTS
      • ANE Congress
      • ANE Rising Stars
      • ANE Eurostars
    • More
      • Publishing Partners
        • Capgemini: All or nothing: Why circular business models require a holistic approach
        • Capgemini: Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
        • Capgemini: Securing the industry's future through a radical rethink
        • Capgemini: Succeeding with the automated driving journey through AI
        • Capgemini: The circular economy is spurring new thinking on EV batteries
        • Capgemini: Toyota and Capgemini leaders on how OEMs can handle industry changes and succeed
        • HEXAGON: Plugging into data is the only way to make winning EVs
        • TUV Rheinland: Ideas, services and certifications for smart mobility
        • TUV Rheinland: Testing of automated and autonomous vehicles on test tracks
        • Toyota Europe
        • UFI Filters
      • Social Media
        • Facebook
        • Instagram
        • LinkedIn
        • Twitter
      • Contact Us
      • Media Kit
      • About Us