Comments on: Video: Is the VW Super Bowl Ad ‘Blackface With Voices’?

By: Charity Dell

Charity Dell — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 03:12:58 +0000

I am African-american, and I found the advertisement somewhat weird and jarring–I wasn’t sure if VW was trying to say:

1. You need to be Jamaican to help the white Minnesota
crowd “loosen up”?;
2. Jamaicans are “happier” than white folks from the North Central USA?;
3. If you buy a Volkswagen, you’ll be “as happy” as the Jamaican-speaking folks?;
4. The very “incongruity” of Jamaican English paired with
North Central Euro-americans will help you “see the light” to purchase the car?

Also, I didn’t know if the actors were imitating real
Jamaican speech they’d heard (or studied), or if they
were lip-synching to a Jamaican actor’s speech.

It was all so bizarre to me, I wasn’t sure exactly WHAT
the message was, other than “Buy this car because our ad is bizarre!”

Things that make you go “hmmmmmmm”….

By: Will Cannon

Will Cannon — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 02:11:03 +0000

As a person of color, I agree 100% with Luke. Here’s why:

Imagine if the White guy had a pronounced urban black accent, we would be calling it racist (I’m sure there will be some here saying that even White people raised in urban areas sometimes have the same accent).

To use the exception (white people being raised in Jamaica) as the rule is a logical fallacy. Most people watching the ad weren’t thinking here is a White man from Jamaica. Most are thinking here is a White man from Minnesota faking a Jamaican accent.

I for one am tired of White people putting on non-White faces or voices. It isn’t funny. In fact, it is downright offensive. I am not buying a VW any time soon.

By: Luke Visconti

Luke Visconti — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 14:02:42 +0000

I think you make a very important point. In my opinion, a steadfast refusal by publishers to diversify the editorial and business teams of magazines destroyed the industry. The all-white, all-Connecticut leadership missed the entire Internet age—and their progeny, the still-all-white Madison Avenue ad agencies, tried to fight the Internet when it first came on the scene. The same thing is happening in television. The Internet gives us an infinite number of “channels,” fracturing audiences and giving new brands a chance to grow. I predict more and more independently shot programming, produced at a fraction of the cost of “traditional” television. (Doesn’t the cable box feel so last century? My FiOS went out on Friday and the best Verizon could do was to give us an 11-hour window seven days later—anything scream “1972″ more than that?) More people are skipping text in favor of video on DiversityInc.com; we’re adjusting our edit creation this year as a result. Luke Visconti, CEO, DiversityInc

By: Lee

Lee — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 12:53:17 +0000

The point is not whether some Jamaicans are offended, the point is the ad offended a lot of people. When you’re trying to sell a product (cars) the goal is to get people to buy the product. You do not want to offend anyone. Luke is right. VW wasted a lot of money running an ad that could possibly discourage some people from buying their product. It’s hard to believe that ad was the best all that brain power, talent, and creativity could produce. And here’s the kicker, they knew it might be offensive, that’s why they ran it by some Jamaicans. Here’s free advertising advice – If you think you’re ad might be offensive, hey, don’t run it, do a better ad.

By: Deb Peter

Deb Peter — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 05:25:28 +0000

I used to work for a large German company and find the entire company to be completely comprised of old white men. Certainly no women of authority and no people of color. It is as if other people dont count so i am not surprised to see this come from vw or their agency. Ultimately their american cmo has to answer to corporate in germany. They are completely out of touch. As a person of color I find mainstream TV in general to push white supremacy themes and images to me at every moment. Every show is all about a white person, commercials are largely dominated by Caucasians. The constant bombardment of white images is a little too much. I have stopped watching TV and only watch programs that more or less cater to me. I actually think personalized programming is the future of entertainment so that if I so desire I can watch programs wih people that look like me if hat is what i choose. Today the strategy is one size fits all.

By: Luke Visconti

Luke Visconti — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 22:20:22 +0000

Not everyone is offended by offensive things—or will say they’re offended if it’s for the better good (Jamaican tourism). But look at the CNN interview. Charles Blow and Christopher John Farley are plenty offended. One’s from The New York Times, the other is from The Wall Street Journal. Their credentials are about as good as it gets. I wouldn’t presume to tell them what they shouldn’t be offended by. I take it at face value. Luke Visconti, CEO, DiversityInc

By: Luke Visconti

Luke Visconti — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 22:06:46 +0000

Look at how the ad agency dressed Jimmy Cliff versus the other characters in the commercial. It’s a striking difference. I understand the way Jimmy Cliff is dressed may be in context at his concerts, but it’s jarring and different in this ad, and I cannot separate that difference from the other difference—that he’s the only main Black character in the commercial. By the way, the other actors were not all portraying angry people; some were upset. And aside from omitting Black people, the crowd was almost 100% white.

On your other point, I researched who the CMO is after I saw the commercial; if the CMO were anything other than a middle-aged white man, I’d have been surprised. But the CMO didn’t do this himself. He was part of a team, the leadership of which was entirely middle-aged white men (see: the behind-the-scenes interview video). That’s not to say that an entirely middle-aged-white-male team can’t put together a commercial that is in touch with the core target for VW, but it sure is easier to make mistakes that way, and I think you’re better off including the people you’re trying to sell to in the first place. The Millennial generation is almost 40 percent nonwhite and/or Latino. Accents are far more usual to that generation than to the Boomers, who are only 26 percent nonwhite and/or Latino. (And keep in mind that nonwhite immigration quotas were in place until 1965, the year after the Baby Boom generation ended.)

BTW, according to quantcast.com, VW’s website attracts mostly younger people (25–34 is the largest demo by far), more women than men, more people with no children than with children, and overindexes for Asians and Latinos. So what’s up with that ad agency? Luke Visconti, CEO, DiversityInc

By: Jessica

Jessica — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 21:48:15 +0000

I believe this is a case of making a mountain out of a mole hill. If people in the alledged offended group are NOT offended… then who truly are the people that are out of touch? Perhaps we need to not take offense on behalf of others.

By: Caroline D

Caroline D — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 20:00:08 +0000

Hello Luke – While i completely respect the point you are making that diversity in organizations is necessary, there are a few things that i have questions about.

While its true you didn’t actually call Jimmy Cliff a street person, you did however say he was dressed as a street person. What exactly about his dress makes you think he looks like a street person?

Why is it an issue that Jimmy “is the only featured Black person in the ad”? Would you have felt differently if there was an angry black person in the group who became happy?

You say “When I first saw the ad, I thought it must have come from the minds of middle-aged white people who don’t get out much—and sure enough, the interview with Tim Mahoney, Volkswagen’s CMO, shows him to be a roughly 50-year-old, goatee-wearing white (American) man.” So did you do any research on Tim Mahoney or did you assume just because he was white and middle aged that he doesnt get out much? Sounds like a stereotype to me.

Lastly, if you found that the CMO was black or asian or hispanic or a woman, would your analysis of this ad have been any different?

By: Luke Visconti

Luke Visconti — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:02:20 +0000

The actor in the ad says he’s from Minnesota. I didn’t call Jimmy Cliff a street person. And, come on, that ad is downright creepy. I didn’t describe your language that way—I described the white actor (who says he’s from Minnesota) as speaking that way. And Charles Blow and Christopher John Farley (who is FROM Jamaica) have a right to their own opinion—and are highly sought after to give just that. Luke Visconti, CEO, DiversityInc