|
Audi's Super Bowl Ad Blunder: 'Green Police' Have Nazi History
1 Attachment(s)
https://www.audiforum.ca/attachments...reenpolice.jpg
Its seems that Apple isn't the only company that picked an unfortunate name to promote a new product recently. German luxury carmaker Audi has introduced a number of mock public-service announcements featuring the "Green Police" -- forest green-uniformed officers who give tips about saving energy. The Green Police campaign will get its widest exposure in Audi's Super Bowl commercial during CBS's (CBS) Feb. 7 telecast, according to AgencySpy. The problem? The Green Police was a name used in Nazi Germany to refer to the German Order Police, or Orpo, who were given the moniker because of their green uniforms. The Orpo weren't merely traffic cops, however. According to the Jewish Virtual Library, one battalion was central in sending Jews, Poles and Gypsies to concentration camps. While the mock PSAs are humorous, with a shtick that leans more toward Reno 911! than Schindler's List, it's certainly never fortuitous for a German company to bring up reminders of the Third Reich. Still, it's likely that most U.S. viewers won't connect the "Green Police" in their history books with the ones in Audi's Super Bowl ad promoting its A3 TDI clean-diesel vehicle. An Audi spokesman didn't immediately return a phone call seeking comment. This will mark Audi's third year running a commercial during the Super Bowl, the most expensive advertising slots on TV. Though the price for a 30-second spot has reportedly fallen to between $2.5 million and $2.8 million from 2009's record-high $3 million, a Super Bowl commercial is still a major investment for any company: Not only must the company buy the airtime, but the cost of producing a Super Bowl commercial can reach $1 million. source |
Re: Audi's Super Bowl Ad Blunder: 'Green Police' Have Nazi Histor
Audi is taking some heat over the unintended connection one blogger made between the company's Green Police ad that's scheduled to debut during the Super Bowl and the Ordnungspolizei, the uniformed regular German police force when the Nazi's ruled Germany. Because of the Ordnungspolizei's green uniforms, they were sometimes referred to as the green police.
Jeffrey Kuhlman, the chief communications officer for Audi of America, told AutoblogGreen that he personally talked to two Jewish leaders – Abraham Foxman, head of the Anti Defamation League, and Fred Zeidman, Chairman of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial and Museum – about the green police ads and that they did not see a problem with the spot. Kuhlman added that: One thing that I think is also needed in order to put this into perspective is the issue of green police vs. Ordnungspolizei. Ordnungspolizei is directly translated to mean Order Police. It's more than just the difference between capital letters and small letters, it's official versus nicknames. And in our research not one person drew any other distinction other than "environmental". We researched the term. We tested the ad concept with focus groups. We sought input and reaction from key organizations, including the Jewish community, and we sent out a press release that went to thousands of media, and not one reaction. I then worked again with key Jewish leaders after the blogger raised the issue, just to make sure that we hadn't missed something, and again, we were reassured that the term is not one that has historical significance, and that reactions to the term are completely in line with our intent ... environmental enforcement. |
Re: Audi's Super Bowl Ad Blunder: 'Green Police' Have Nazi Histor
I really don't see how this is a big deal or anything.
Sincerely doubting that a large number of people would even make this association, and even if they do clearly it isn't what the ad is about. Talk about pushing for over-political-correctness (yes I can make up words :P ) |
Re: Audi's Super Bowl Ad Blunder: 'Green Police' Have Nazi Histor
Most football-watching Americans can't point out Europe on a map anyway...:confused:
|
Re: Audi's Super Bowl Ad Blunder: 'Green Police' Have Nazi Histor
LOL! that is so true estrn_uro!
|
Re: Audi's Super Bowl Ad Blunder: 'Green Police' Have Nazi Histor
I'm a football watching american, and i can distinguish without names damn near every country in the world thank you very much :)
|
| All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:04 AM. |
© 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands