A 15 year old spoof of a suicide bomber in a car is viral now as a real ‘ad’ by Volkswagen.
A video is viral which shows a man (Suicide Bomber) drives a Volkswagen Polo to a market with people around, presses a button resulting in an explosion but the car contained it, the tag line in the end read “Small but tough” with a logo of Volkswagen.
BJP’s Delhi Spokesperson Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga tweeted
“Terrorist Commercial Ad by Volkswagen” Interesting ?“
The tweet by now has been retweet by more than 1100 people, seen by approximately 40K people, liked by 5.7K people
"Terrorist Commercial Ad by Volkswagen" Interesting ? pic.twitter.com/AYs98BmMYE
— Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga (@TajinderBagga) November 24, 2020
Following man, Sudhir’s tweet has been retweeted 720 times . He wrote
“जर्मनी की ऑटोमोबाइल कंपनी फॉक्सवैगन ने इन शांति दूतों का जमकर मजाक उड़ाया है शांतिदूत आतंकी फॉक्सवैगन की कार में बम लेकर ब्लास्ट करना चाहता है लेकिन कार इतना मजबूत है कि ब्लास्ट नहीं होता अगर ऐसा ऐड किसी भारतीय कंपनी ने बनाया होता तो अब तक इस्लाम खतरे में आ गया होता”
Translation: German Automobile company Volkswagen made good fun. Peaceful Terrorist was trying to explode in a Volkswagen car but the car is so strong that it didn’t explode. If such ad was made by any Indian company, Islam might have been in danger.
जर्मनी की ऑटोमोबाइल कंपनी फॉक्सवैगन ने इन शांति दूतों का जमकर मजाक उड़ाया है
शांतिदूत आतंकी फॉक्सवैगन की कार में बम लेकर ब्लास्ट करना चाहता है लेकिन कार इतना मजबूत है कि ब्लास्ट नहीं होता
अगर ऐसा ऐड किसी भारतीय कंपनी ने बनाया होता तो अब तक इस्लाम खतरे में आ गया होता pic.twitter.com/tFGSPlGnjE
— सुधीर श्रीवास्तव उर्फ सोनू (@SonuSri795) November 23, 2020
This is why one should by German Cars now.. pic.twitter.com/Dukniv3lBB
— Harshal Purohit (@iPurohitHarshal) November 23, 2020
BJP Spokesperson Delhi, Tajinder Pal Singh Pagga posted on his verified page –
Truth
The viral video is not a real ad but a 15 year old spoof.
The Guardian reported on 23rd Jan 2005 –
Suicide bomber sells VW Polo – hoax ad takes internet by storm
The spoof ad opens with the suicide bomber leaving his home and jumping into his VW Polo. The bomber parks at a busy London restaurant where carefree diners crowd the pavement. Cut to the terrorist sitting in his car as he pushes the button to detonate his bomb. The blast is contained within the car, saving the diners. The ad ends: ‘Polo. Small but tough’.
It has to be a candidate for the sickest advert of all time, but also one of the most deceptive. Despite the high quality production values, real Volkswagen logo and the free publicity it is attracting around the world, the commercial was not made by the car giant.
Indeed, the firm has expressed disgust at the spoof depiction of a suicide bomber blowing himself up in a VW Polo, and tomorrow it will consider legal action against its creators.
The advert was not made for TV but to be flashed around the world on the internet. It is part of a phenomenon of ‘viral emails’ – not to be confused with computer viruses – that is so popular that this month saw the first ‘viral awards’.
Most are official efforts by companies and advertising agencies. The VW hoax, however, marks a worrying new trend for them – bogus ads which can be made by one individual that can wreck a firm’s reputation.
Ford had to distance itself last year from a viral email showing a cat’s head being cut off by a car’s sunroof. Paul Buckett, a VW spokesman, said: ‘Two creatives known to our advertising agency, DDB London, sent in this work on spec. The agency wouldn’t have anything to do it. I can only assume the people who made it put it on the web.
‘We were horrified. This is not something we would consider using: it is in incredibly bad taste to depict suicide bombers.
‘It gives the impression we’ve condoned or supported it, and is potentially very damaging to Volkswagen. Our legal department is planning an action and we will decide tomorrow.’
The ad is believed to be the work of a duo experienced in spoof ads, known as Lee and Dan, who also make real commercials.
Dan told the digital newsletter of media experts Brand Republic: ‘The ad got out accidentally and spread like wildfire.’
It reflected ‘what people see in the news every day. The car is the hero that protects innocent people from someone with very bad intentions. We’re sorry if it has caused any offence.’
Further, one of the world’s oldest Fact Checker “Snopes” also debunked this in 2005 i.e. 15 year ago.
Volkswagen Polo ‘Terrorist’ Commercial https://t.co/dpAXWUrXXt
— snopes.com (@snopes) May 27, 2017
This old Volkswagen "terrorist" commercial isn't what you think it is http://t.co/X9xnnZBpEz pic.twitter.com/dsSAzkYPdF
— Jalopnik (@Jalopnik) May 7, 2015
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