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Is This Racist? Volkswagen Pressured to Pull Super Bowl Ad Over…Jamaican Accent

Jan. 30, 2013 9:55am Mike Opelka

Volkswagen’s new Super Bowl ad got some extra attention this week when USA Today reported that some people began calling the spot “racist” because one of the actors mimics a Jamaican accent.

The German car company initially responded to complaints by claiming that they had thoroughly vetted the ad, even running it by “100 Jamaicans” and hiring an accent coach to make sure the actor’s portrayal was on target.

Image: YouTube

The new VW Beetle spot features a white man speaking with a Jamaican accent and using some figures of speech that might be considered Jamaican vernacular. “The ad shows a worker from Minnesota trying to cheer up co-workers in an accent often associated with black Jamaicans, because he has been made so happy by his Volkswagen,” the Associated Press explains.

As the commercial began appearing on some preview sites, a social media storm started brewing. Volkswagen’s Tim Mahoney reacted to the initial uproar by stating – “There is no thought to pulling it.”

On Monday of this week, VW seemed to be pleased with the early buzz on the ad. They were even tweeting about it.

Image: Twitter

So is it racist? CNN played it recently and then discussed, and host Soledad O’Brien seems to like it:

NBC had a variety of opinions on it.

On Tuesday morning, the “Today” show showed the ad and debated the issue of its appropriateness with “media expert” Barbara Lippert. Despite VW’s initial insistence that they are not going to pull the ad, Ms. Lippert predicted that it would not air during the Super Bowl.

Not everyone thinks the commercial is racist. TheRoot.com — a site that says it covers “black news, opinion, politics and culture” — has posted the story. A quick review of the comments section doesn’t appear to show support for the theories that the commercial is racist.

It also appears that opinions on Twitter are supporting VW.

Image: Twitter

As of Wednesday morning, Volkswagen has not pulled the spot that they have paid more than $7 million dollars to run during the Super Bowl.

What do you think Volkswagen should do? Keep the ad or pull it?

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Comments (103)

WakeUp
Posted on January 30, 2013 at 11:05am
Is this still America?

People have to be afraid of what they say because if it isn’t “approved” and deemed politically correct, they are destroyed. – What happened to freedom of speech?

Six year olds are suspended from school because they use the word God on a paper. – What happened to the “free excersize of religion may not be infringed?”

People are demonized for having the tools necessary to defend their families. Politicians are working to take away the legal right to do so, What happened to the right to bear arms?

Obama said that he sees the Bill of Rights as limits on the people, not the government. He is working hard to destroy ALL of our rights.

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- KMM
  Posted on January 30, 2013 at 2:44pm
  Maybe we need more Mel Brooks’ movies (less some potty humor) to remind people to lighten up.
  
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- kenboo1
  Posted on January 30, 2013 at 10:32pm
  Da brodders aint happy cause dey didnt tink of it man… Don’t worry… Be happy!!!
  
  Report this comment
- kenboo1
  Posted on January 30, 2013 at 10:35pm
  Kmm… Yeah… i love me some sittin around the campfire and farting…
  
  Report this comment
- sevensg
  Posted on January 30, 2013 at 11:53pm
  I agree, and am begining to think that “freedom of speech” only applies to Piers Morgan and his b.s. rants. I’d love to know who made him America’s voice for gun control.
  
  Report this comment
- Bloody Sam
  Posted on January 31, 2013 at 11:50am
  ” an accent often associated with black Jamaicans, ”
  
  Now…THAT’S racist. there are a great many non-black people from Jamaica that speak with that same accent. Born and raised there.
  This zero-tolerance from the ‘tolerant’ Left has to stop.
  When is someone going to have the cajones to just say “Be offended. We don’t care”…?
  
  Report this comment
- A_CALL_TO_CONSCIENCE
  Posted on January 31, 2013 at 2:59pm
  Political Correctness has destroyed America, and it will continue to do so.
  
  Report this comment
- A_CALL_TO_CONSCIENCE
  Posted on January 31, 2013 at 3:05pm
  I’m sure most people remember the very hilarious Budweiser commercial “What are you doing?” Did anyone cry it was racist against white people?
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PQogX88yjg
  
  Report this comment
WatchingThePuppetShow
Posted on January 30, 2013 at 11:04am
Soon we won’t be able to speak to each other only text, which of course will be monitored by ‘Big Brother’, making sure that we don’t say or do any thing offensive in the eyes of someone else.

This is all part of us becoming a more ‘Tolerant’ nation…that way when Muslims start patrolling our streets telling us that this is ‘their part of town’ like in England – we’ll comply with them.

Sometime soon people are going to say enough is enough of this crap and take back AMERICA .

What ever group is saying this ad is racist they need a good schooling.

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The Big Mick
Posted on January 30, 2013 at 11:04am
“Don’t worry (beat a beat beat a beat) be happy (beat a beat beat a beat)!”
Works for this Irishman.
Course as Barnum? said, “Nobody ever went broke overestimating the stupidity of the American People.”
Anybody still think you have “common ground” with the POS who would Howl “RACISM” at this?

Jamacan Bobsled Team, Mon! Taink SNOW! And get your Island On, Hooray BEER!

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Mad_as_Hell...
Posted on January 30, 2013 at 11:03am
funny.

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Harry19
Posted on January 30, 2013 at 11:01am
Anything said when Obama tries his lousy accents, NO why,Because he straddles the fence

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Tom K
Posted on January 30, 2013 at 11:01am
VW should NOT put this ad out on social networks OR give it to the Lame Stream Media to discuss. Just run the ad on Super Bowl Sunday and sell some cars. Remember the Jamacian Bobsled Team ad that was very entertaining and funny ? They just ran it and it was successful. Political Correctness is the Killer of Free Speach AND Freedom. Just don’t participate. I will not comply.

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dukeofpaducah
Posted on January 30, 2013 at 10:58am
They are equating Jamaica with smiles and happiness so what is the problem. This PC baloney is way outta’ whack. Pretty soon we will not be able to verbalize at all or even use sign language.
And these jackass companies have no balls when it comes to standing up for themselves.

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no1hd
Posted on January 30, 2013 at 10:54am
Pull the ad and all future ads and sponsorship of the NFL. You will not lose any money.
Go over to NASCAR, not when they are on espn as they support obama and gun control, and run the ad. To be exact, espn may be a place to look to remove all your ads as they have just told the msjority of their audience they are against their rights.

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Misha
Posted on January 30, 2013 at 10:49am
I first heard of this ad (and peeps – it’s “ad” not add) from the irrelevant Today Show talking heads and that woman so-called media expert they had on was all over this – “social media really saved VW this time, there is NO way they’ll run this ad.” Bull, lady. Go to the VW site – there is nothing but post after post after post supporting it. It’s funny, creative, something new. Unlike the Doritos ad – which is same old same old. I hope they aren’t cowards and that they run the ad during the SB.

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americanexile
Posted on January 30, 2013 at 10:45am
What a freaking joke. Jamaican is a nationality, not a race. This is no different than mimicking a Southern accent or the movie Fargo poking fun at midwestern dialect.

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- ExtremeRight
  Posted on January 30, 2013 at 10:50am
  americanexile,
  
  your name is racist. everything is racist don’t you know maan!
  
  Report this comment
spfoam1
Posted on January 30, 2013 at 10:38am
I don’t see the Jamaicans lining up to protest the ad. The only ones protesting are liberals. They are acting as though they picked up a bible, and now feel compelled to tell others how to live. That hypocrisy is astounding, as they have always mocked people of faith. These liberals ARE what they claim to hate, as they point at others and shake their finger. Liberals only find humor when they are ridiculing or slandering anyone they HATE. Liberals are the most bigoted and prejudice individuals on earth.

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- Displacedsoutherner
  Posted on January 30, 2013 at 11:13am
  One thing that always surprises me is the lack of expectation by anyone not in the Lib club of the absurd and race baiting questions with which they’ll be hit.
  
  A level-headed person just can’t imagine the illogic with which the Left operates, so when someone asks essentially, “so why do you hate black people?” they stutter and stumble while their brains try to sort our where the heck such a question would come from.
  
  I think the VW guy would have served himself better if he’d simply said: “Jamaica is thought of as a happy place, the car makes people happy, Dave is a happy guy because of the car.”
  
  The fewer sentences the Libs have to twist out of shape the better.
  
  Trying to explain anything in detail to a Liberal is like trying to teach your dog to type, they keys may move but nothing that makes any sense ever comes out.
  
  Report this comment
- trtmntdude
  Posted on January 31, 2013 at 9:04am
  I have to strongly disagree with you, Southerner. We CANNOT let the left dictate our actions or narrative for ONE SECOND. If we want to say it, then we should say it and not have to worry about how evil, twisted sycophants of marxism will twist our words.
  
  Report this comment
jimbo_from_suwanee
Posted on January 30, 2013 at 10:36am
If things like this can become a point of debate, then we are going to rip ourselves apart at the seams. Socialist need to understand there are people who will not be ruled by them. The Tories that everything was fine and dandy until Lexington and Concord.

Someday, they may hear…To arms; to arms…The liberals are coming….To arms; to arms…The liberals are coming….To arms; to arms…The liberals are coming….To arms; to arms…The liberals are coming….To arms; to arms…The liberals are coming….To arms; to arms…The liberals are coming….To arms; to arms…The liberals are coming….

Proclaimed loudly in righteousness against tyranny to their surprise.

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AxelPhantom
Posted on January 30, 2013 at 10:34am
Hey now mon! Don’t Worry—Be Happy!

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badswing
Posted on January 30, 2013 at 10:30am
racist? because ……? not that i want to agree with later!

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olderjarhead
Posted on January 30, 2013 at 10:29am
I’ve been to Jamaica TONS of time. I love Jamaicans. I could tell you which Americans, Jamaicans dislike the most. Hint: they look like they could be Obama’s son. I could totally understand why Jamaicans would love this commercial.

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- olderjarhead
  Posted on January 30, 2013 at 10:42am
  And it’s not “Sticky Bun come soon” it’s “Sticky Bun soon come”. Maybe that would have been “racist”?
  
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Kuffar
Posted on January 30, 2013 at 10:26am
Love it…

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Tri-ox
Posted on January 30, 2013 at 10:26am
Oh, I get it, “Jamaican” is now considered a RACE by lib race baiters.

The last time I checked, “Jamaican” was a nationality, not a race, but, facts are meaningless in obama’s divided America.

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- WakeUp
  Posted on January 30, 2013 at 11:11am
  The more groups they can divide us into, the more groups they can squeeze for votes. The democrat NEVER been to help minorities, but to create minorities as voting blocks.
  
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SpankDaMonkey
Posted on January 30, 2013 at 10:19am
.
Well then somebody needs to tell Obama’s white half to stop talking like a slave………

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- gyro
  Posted on January 30, 2013 at 10:27am
  not nice
  
  Report this comment
- 13th Imam
  Posted on January 30, 2013 at 10:36am
  Reminds me of that Star Trek episode
  
  “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield” with Frank Gorshin
  
  Report this comment
- Shasta
  Posted on January 30, 2013 at 11:02am
  not nice…
  
  but totally true.
  
  Report this comment
- The Big Mick
  Posted on January 30, 2013 at 11:07am
  13th Imam.
  Yeah, but then we are all “white” on our “WRONG” side, n’est ce pas?
  
  Compare and Contrast to the piece on the Arabic Pledge in CO.
  
  Report this comment
- Pro-LifeLibertyandPursuitofHappiness
  Posted on January 30, 2013 at 6:51pm
  Yes! I can’t stand it when he slips into his phony, folksy dialect. It’s bad enough that he “ums” and “uhs” throughout his speeches, but the fake accent or whatever it is, is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. For the past four years, any time he’s on TV or radio, I flip the station.
  
  Report this comment
rockymtngal
Posted on January 30, 2013 at 10:15am
There are more important things to worry about than a commercial. When speaking to a group of African Americans, Obama’s “accent” changes.

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- 13th Imam
  Posted on January 30, 2013 at 10:19am
  Ya, Mon
  
  Pass the spliff, mon
  
  Report this comment
gyro
Posted on January 30, 2013 at 10:14am
add is ok
Obama is offensive
the car is junk
Just the facts

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msconstrue
Posted on January 30, 2013 at 10:08am
i saw the preview for this ad last night…didnt find any thing racist about it. that said, in the realm of super bowl ads it seemed pretty dull!

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paulwbrown
Posted on January 30, 2013 at 10:08am
What is racist is the racists labeling the ad racist!

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- Tom K
  Posted on January 30, 2013 at 11:10am
  @ PAULWBROWN : Dem-Lib-Prog-Soc-Comms are like VAMPIRES – they will suck all of the fun and joy out of your life. They are miserable humanoids and misery just loves company. I refuse to join them and you can too. FREEDOM !
  
  Report this comment
ozchambers
Posted on January 30, 2013 at 10:06am
I’m sorry, but it made me smile and reminded me of trips to the Caribbean. Oh crap, I am apparently racist.

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MDECKER
Posted on January 30, 2013 at 10:06am
Bad Add, yes, Racist, No! People just need to quit looking for the easy buck, Jesse, Al, Barry,…

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The_Jerk
Posted on January 30, 2013 at 10:05am
Always keep racism alive, even when it is not there. No one cried when Brad Pitt did the same in the movie, “Meet Joe Black.”

Tear the culture apart. Keep it divided. It’s the modus operandi of a minority usurping the culture and traditions of a majority.

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- gyro
  Posted on January 30, 2013 at 10:16am
  Waitttttttttttt
  I saw you type this with as offensive finder Jerk!!!
  Your going on THE LIST
  
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- THX-1138
  Posted on January 30, 2013 at 10:26am
  Tropic Thunder, best line ever, “What do *you* mean ‘You People’”?
  
  The ad made me smile; how can that be bad?
  
  Report this comment

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