- Apr 14, 2001
- 57,504
- 20,110
- 146
Mental Health Groups Slam Volkswagen Ad
By Bruce Horovitz, USA TODAY
(Feb. 15) - Suicide prevention groups have a new auto company in their sights: VW.
At least five mental health groups are demanding that Volkswagen drop a new TV spot that features a distraught guy on a ledge who ultimately opts not to jump off the building after he hears there are three VW vehicles available for under $17,000.
VW has no plans to yank the ad. "We see no reason to stop at this point," says Keith Price, a VW spokesman. "We are willing to continue the discussion. But controversy is not something VW had shied away from in its marketing."
The complaints come just days after General Motors - under pressure from activists -agreed to change the ending of a Super Bowl spot featuring a suicidal robot. A few days earlier, Masterfoods USA pulled a Snicker's Super Bowl spot in which two men accidentally kiss over a Snickers bar. Gay activist groups complained the men's over-the-top reaction was homophobic.
The VW ad, "Jumper," first aired Monday during NBC's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Created by the often-edgy ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky, it also is available at YouTube.
Before the ad aired, Suicide Prevention Action Network USA sent a letter to VW asking that it not air. On Wednesday, a letter urging that it be dropped was sent by four groups: The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, American Psychiatric Association, Mental Health America and National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Madison Avenue is feeling increasing heat from activists regarding commercial content. At the same time, interest groups appear to have increasing power to apply pressure, in part thanks to the ability to organize on the Internet.
"There's little that marketers or politicians can do if powerful advocacy groups coalesce against them," says Barry Glassner, professor of sociology at the University of Southern California. "In some cases, they're a crucial corrective that society needs. In other cases, they go overboard."
In this case, Glassner believes the advocacy groups are right.
Says Jerry Reed, executive director of Suicide Prevention Action Network USA: "There's nothing entertaining about the public health tragedy of suicide." Robert Gebbia, executive director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, concurs: "You shouldn't use mental illnesses as a way to sell cars."
VW means no harm, Price says. "It was not designed or conceived to offend anyone," he says.
But crisis consultant Jonathan Bernstein says VW should dump the ad anyway. "VW should have learned a lesson from GM. It's not worth running an ad that's socially controversial."
http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/2007-02-14-vw-suicide-ad-usat_x.htm
Update:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/2007-02-15-vw-pulls-ad_x.htm
VW reviews complaints, pulls ad after all
Updated 2/15/2007 11:02 PM ET
By Laura Petrecca, USA TODAY
Caving to pressure from suicide-prevention groups, Volkswagen said Thursday that it would pull a commercial that shows a man who threatens to jump off a building because of concern about the world's troubles.
The ad ? in which he decides not to leap after hearing there are three VWs that cost less than $17,000 ? was criticized by five mental health groups.
Two ? the Suicide Prevention Action Network (SPAN USA) and The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) ? sent letters to VW, spokesman Keith Price says. He says VW received no complaints from consumers or its dealers.
VW at first defended the ad, but changed course after reviewing the complaints, he says. The agency that created the ad, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, referred all calls to Volkswagen. AFSP executive director Robert Gebbia says, "We're very happy with (VW's) decision. Suicide is a tragic problem and shouldn't be used ? to sell products."
In addition to no longer airing the ad, VW is trying to get it removed from online video sites such as YouTube.com.
Gebbia says he understands it can't be fully eradicated online. "Obviously, what's out there they have no control over."
This was the latest in a round of commercial controversies. Three ads that ran on the Feb. 4 Super Bowl also drew fire:
?General Motors (GM) is re-editing a commercial to delete a section in which a distraught robot jumps off a bridge.
?Masterfoods USA has dropped an ad in which the reaction of two men to an accidental kiss upset some gay activists.
?Nationwide Mutual Insurance (NFS) has declined to pull an ad in which Kevin Federline, estranged husband of Britney Spears, plays a fast-food worker dreaming of being a rap star. The National Restaurant Association criticized it for a "demeaning" portrayal of restaurant workers.
The Internet has given advocacy groups immense power to affect ads by letting them vent on a very public stage, agency executive Mark DiMassimo says.
"If sufficiently organized, they can have a major impact, and that's driving fear into the hearts of mass marketers," he says. "Big, conservative companies are used to controlling the media, but that's no longer the case."
Yet, when marketers back down, it creates a "very dangerous" environment for the ad industry, says Drew Neisser, CEO of the Renegade Marketing Group.
"The recent withdrawals will embolden every interest group to push their agenda and complain about any ad that doesn't jibe with their mission," he says.
"To create ads that offend no one is a fruitless endeavor," Neisser says. "To cut through, there must be an element of surprise ? that someone, somewhere, might not like."
By Bruce Horovitz, USA TODAY
(Feb. 15) - Suicide prevention groups have a new auto company in their sights: VW.
At least five mental health groups are demanding that Volkswagen drop a new TV spot that features a distraught guy on a ledge who ultimately opts not to jump off the building after he hears there are three VW vehicles available for under $17,000.
VW has no plans to yank the ad. "We see no reason to stop at this point," says Keith Price, a VW spokesman. "We are willing to continue the discussion. But controversy is not something VW had shied away from in its marketing."
The complaints come just days after General Motors - under pressure from activists -agreed to change the ending of a Super Bowl spot featuring a suicidal robot. A few days earlier, Masterfoods USA pulled a Snicker's Super Bowl spot in which two men accidentally kiss over a Snickers bar. Gay activist groups complained the men's over-the-top reaction was homophobic.
The VW ad, "Jumper," first aired Monday during NBC's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Created by the often-edgy ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky, it also is available at YouTube.
Before the ad aired, Suicide Prevention Action Network USA sent a letter to VW asking that it not air. On Wednesday, a letter urging that it be dropped was sent by four groups: The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, American Psychiatric Association, Mental Health America and National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Madison Avenue is feeling increasing heat from activists regarding commercial content. At the same time, interest groups appear to have increasing power to apply pressure, in part thanks to the ability to organize on the Internet.
"There's little that marketers or politicians can do if powerful advocacy groups coalesce against them," says Barry Glassner, professor of sociology at the University of Southern California. "In some cases, they're a crucial corrective that society needs. In other cases, they go overboard."
In this case, Glassner believes the advocacy groups are right.
Says Jerry Reed, executive director of Suicide Prevention Action Network USA: "There's nothing entertaining about the public health tragedy of suicide." Robert Gebbia, executive director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, concurs: "You shouldn't use mental illnesses as a way to sell cars."
VW means no harm, Price says. "It was not designed or conceived to offend anyone," he says.
But crisis consultant Jonathan Bernstein says VW should dump the ad anyway. "VW should have learned a lesson from GM. It's not worth running an ad that's socially controversial."
http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/2007-02-14-vw-suicide-ad-usat_x.htm
Update:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/2007-02-15-vw-pulls-ad_x.htm
VW reviews complaints, pulls ad after all
Updated 2/15/2007 11:02 PM ET
By Laura Petrecca, USA TODAY
Caving to pressure from suicide-prevention groups, Volkswagen said Thursday that it would pull a commercial that shows a man who threatens to jump off a building because of concern about the world's troubles.
The ad ? in which he decides not to leap after hearing there are three VWs that cost less than $17,000 ? was criticized by five mental health groups.
Two ? the Suicide Prevention Action Network (SPAN USA) and The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) ? sent letters to VW, spokesman Keith Price says. He says VW received no complaints from consumers or its dealers.
VW at first defended the ad, but changed course after reviewing the complaints, he says. The agency that created the ad, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, referred all calls to Volkswagen. AFSP executive director Robert Gebbia says, "We're very happy with (VW's) decision. Suicide is a tragic problem and shouldn't be used ? to sell products."
In addition to no longer airing the ad, VW is trying to get it removed from online video sites such as YouTube.com.
Gebbia says he understands it can't be fully eradicated online. "Obviously, what's out there they have no control over."
This was the latest in a round of commercial controversies. Three ads that ran on the Feb. 4 Super Bowl also drew fire:
?General Motors (GM) is re-editing a commercial to delete a section in which a distraught robot jumps off a bridge.
?Masterfoods USA has dropped an ad in which the reaction of two men to an accidental kiss upset some gay activists.
?Nationwide Mutual Insurance (NFS) has declined to pull an ad in which Kevin Federline, estranged husband of Britney Spears, plays a fast-food worker dreaming of being a rap star. The National Restaurant Association criticized it for a "demeaning" portrayal of restaurant workers.
The Internet has given advocacy groups immense power to affect ads by letting them vent on a very public stage, agency executive Mark DiMassimo says.
"If sufficiently organized, they can have a major impact, and that's driving fear into the hearts of mass marketers," he says. "Big, conservative companies are used to controlling the media, but that's no longer the case."
Yet, when marketers back down, it creates a "very dangerous" environment for the ad industry, says Drew Neisser, CEO of the Renegade Marketing Group.
"The recent withdrawals will embolden every interest group to push their agenda and complain about any ad that doesn't jibe with their mission," he says.
"To create ads that offend no one is a fruitless endeavor," Neisser says. "To cut through, there must be an element of surprise ? that someone, somewhere, might not like."
Facebook
Twitter