That seems to be the message in a new
Volkswagen ad to be played during Sunday's Super Bowl. It features a white,
Midwesterner who uses a fake Jamaican accent to bring cheer to his office.
When his fellow employees are grumpy
on Monday morning, he says “no worries, man, everything will be alright.”
He also says “Yessa” in response to a
question from a supervisor, which is awfully close to “Yessir, massa” in our
eyes.
When he sees another employee in a
fight with a thieving vending machine, his response is “Don’t fret, my brother,
sticky bun come soon.”
Sticky bun come soon? Sticky bun come soon? Yes, sticky bun come soon.
And so does the quite valid criticism of the commercial.
Some claim the ad is racist in
tone because, as Rochelle Newman-Carrasco, a marketing executive says,
"What happens in this ad is that the culture becomes a punch line, and
that is offensive."
Editor-at-large Barbara Lippert says,
“This is so racist. It’s just saying, ‘Black people are happy.’” And dumb. And lazy. The last two are
just a few beats away.
Volkswagen says it has taken a poll and
93% of respondents had positive feelings toward the ad. The company also
claims to have interviewed 100 Jamaicans and spoken with a speech coach to
prevent offense. Oops.
One person who is more than happy with
the ad is Jamaican minister of tourism and entertainment, Wykeham McNeill, who
is trying to co-brand the country with the car company. “We view it as a
compliment. People should get into their inner Jamaica and get happy.”
The spot ends with the employees AND
their boss happily cruising in a punch buggy spouting off phrases in these
whack Ja-fakin accents.
Perhaps the critique was said best by
Charles Blow of the NYTimes, who commented the ad was "like blackface with
voices. I don't like that."
Neither do we.
Volkswagen will still play the ad
during Sunday's game on CBS. Why let $8 million go to waste in the name of
cultural sensitivity?
