Another day, another massive blunder by a huge conglomerate. It seems the brands will just never learn!
The latest advert to have the internet rallying around together is none other than Audi's. The car company forced to apologize after their new vehicle advertisement left viewers feeling more than just uncomfortable...
Keep scrolling for the reasoning behind their visual choices as well as the image that caused the controversy.
Advertising is an important part of business.
But in this day and age, it seems they're also basically an inescapable part of all of life.To many, ads are just an annoyance.
Feeling like you're constantly being bombarded with messages to buy buy buy can be a little exhausting, can't it?And boy, can adverts be irritating.
The idea of a successful advert is to grab attention and to stay in your head - so annoying can be rather lucrative.But there's an even more pernicious trend in the ad industry.
In order to grab attention (and thus customers) amidst the constant noise, ads are becoming increasingly "outrageous." And by outrageous, we mean offensive.And I know what you're thinking... It's probably not even that offensive...
But this one has really left a sour taste in everyone's mouths as the ad contained some very disturbing "innuendos" which led to it being removed.The brand behind the idea is none other than the vehicle manufacturer, Audi.
The popular car brand has been on the receiving end of intense backlash after they released what has been described as a "tasteless" and "life-threatening" image of a girl eating a banana in front of a car.For those of you that might not be aware, there have been sexual connotations tied to the fruit.
Often people associate the act of eating a banana as a phallic symbol and the sexual imagery has also been used similarly within TV and film so it's not like it was a secret.Though it might not be the first thing to come into some of our minds...
I can understand why people were annoyed that it was there in the first place, especially given the circumstances of the current "sex trafficking" scandal that is dominating social media.Not to mention, there are lots of social media accounts dedicated to posting videos of people eating bananas...
And it's very disturbing, to say the least.And just to make things worse, the caption with the post read:
"Let's your heart beat faster - in every aspect." Oh no...As if someone on the creative team didn't put two and two together and stop this.
I mean, I find it hard to believe that an entire team of professionals sat down and collectively decided that it was alright to put a child in front of a car and make her eat a banana while they filmed it.I refuse to believe it.
#Family time with a very special member – the #Audi #RS4. Enjoy your #weekend. https://t.co/FMVBHkoeau— Audi (@Audi)1595151001.0
We know that "cancel culture" can take things a little far sometimes, but this one deserves it.
This ad is well and truly canceled.And it seems like a lot of other people agree...
How did the photographer not pick up on this?Others had a more passionate opinion on the matter...
I mean, it is pretty uncomfortable.Here's the thing, a lot of people choose not to get it because it shouldn't be wrong.
@missanemixx @CannonballBobby @BBCWorld For all the kids who are trafficked and suggestively exploited.. They disag… https://t.co/YGkrkCUHHc— Celestial Spirit 🖤🍜 (@Celestial Spirit 🖤🍜)1596536137.0
And it's not about people like us that don't immediately associate the picture to sexual symbols...
@BBCWorld Someone with paedophilic thoughts may find that pose somehow suggestive, normal people see a child eating fruit— Neil (@Neil)1596535540.0
Others picked up on another thing...
@AudiOfficial What’s the point? What is the message this ad is supposed to send to us? Setting aside the comments a… https://t.co/0EsqZFJR9e— One Voice (@One Voice)1596620422.0
Due to all the backlash, Audi has tried to explain themselves on their Twitter.
We hear you and let’s get this straight: We care for children. The Audi RS 4 is a family car with more than thirty… https://t.co/6wSI4KMlUU— Audi (@Audi)1596452682.0
Then they continued the 3-part post:
We hoped we could convey these messages, showing that even for the weakest traffic participants it is possible to r… https://t.co/zof3NZbboU— Audi (@Audi)1596452682.0
And they ended it like this:
We sincerely apologize for this insensitive image and ensure that it will not be used in future. We will also immed… https://t.co/VrV7irY1lT— Audi (@Audi)1596452683.0