VW's Vile Ad Campaign

In a VW television commercial, two adult men are sitting in a parking garage, observing and noting the cars passing through. One, a burly, stocky man, is twice the size of his companion. He mentions something about a car and then viciously slugs the smaller man very hard in his shoulder. The victim winces, then acts as if he deserved to be hit. A few seconds later, it happens again. And then again, the aggressor never being held accountable for his actions. In fact, as far as Volkswagen is concerned, he is Mr. Right, the role model whom they want the viewer to emulate (Mr. Right is hip to their great product line, you see).

This isn't the only ad they put out with this theme. With the opening music of the old Andy Griffith show in the background, various people in a town go around slugging others in the shoulder when they see VWs drive past them. It's all good, mainstream, hometown, apple pie, acceptable All-American fun. At least that's how Volkswagen wants you to see it.

No, slugging a fellow human being hard in the shoulder is NOT acceptable. In childhood, this is called "bullying" and "child abuse". In adulthood, this is called "physical assault" and is a criminal act, subject to prosecution. But let me say that if someone tried to slug me like in their vile commercials, the justice process would begin immediately, back in the face of the aggressor!

I thought those old V8 vegetable juice commercials were over the top with the way people in public were being popped in the forehead for having missed out on opportunities to consume their product. But this goes way beyond V8's misguided gimmick. This legitimatizes bullying, and at a time of bullying-related suicides and efforts on the parts of schools to highlight and fight the problem. Boycott Volkswagen for this outrageous pro-violence campaign!