Volkswagen Ad for Golf MK. 8 Prompts Public Outrage, Apology from Carmaker

To promote the all-new Golf MK. 8, Volkswagen shot a series of videos in Buenos Aires, which aired on the carmaker’s social media accounts – on Facebook and Instagram Stories, the BBC confirms. In one video, mimicking a popular Tik Tok meme that seems to show one person manipulating another like a puppet, a pair of white hands belonging to the woman play with the figure of a black man.

The hands grab and toss the man around like a puppet, and eventually flick him inside a cafe called Little Colon, which means the Little Colonist / Settler. The video comes with a soundtrack of comedic noises and laughter. Making matters only worse, as the slogan “Der Neue Golf” (“The New Golf”) fades out, the letters seem to spell “neger,” the N-word equivalent in German.

The premiere of the video was followed by public outrage, with Volkswagen initially responding that those who found the ad racist or in any other way offensive were taking it out of context and misinterpreting the message. Upon closer inspection, the carmaker had a change of heart, pulled the ad and issued a formal apology.

The ad turned out “wrong and distasteful” and an investigation into how it came to air is underway, Volkswagen says. “We fully understand the disgust and anger in response to the video. We firmly distance ourselves from the video and apologize sincerely,” the carmaker adds.

“Volkswagen has positioned itself as a company that does not tolerate any form of racism, xenophobia or discrimination,” VW continues. They also promise whoever is responsible for the add would “draw the necessary consequences,” which means someone over at marketing is about to get into big trouble soon.