I think I'll end this now, as it turns out that the ad in question was made by amateurs and...

[JVS]

does not reflect the position of the company producing the product which appears in it.

[Deja Q]

1. Possibly misadvertising, but I thought it funny as hell.

:hide:

[uppityperson]

2. Poor taste, bigotted, but still funny.

I laughed, but felt bad about it. (wuss, aren't I?) Perpetuating a negative stereotype is in poor taste.

[That Is Quite Enough]

3. Funny...but in very bad taste.

I feel bad for chuckling at it.

[rug]

4. Yes, the keffiyeh was draped poorly.

[MADem]

5. It's in horrible taste, but I'm sure that plenty will find it amusing in spite of that

simply for the greater absurdity it portrays...

A lot of humor is in poor taste, and un-PC as well.

The irony is, is that Arabs were the world's first engineers....but that's overthinking the whole concept.

[rocktivity]

6. The black and white checkered scarf is what ruins it

by turning it into a racist stereotype. Otherwise, it WOULD have been merely tasteless.

On edit: Oh, the scarf has a name? Thanks, Rug.

:headbang:
rocknation

[iamahaingttta]

7. Yes.

Yes it is in poor taste.
Funny as hell?
No.
No, it's not funny at all.

[AlCzervik]

8. assholish.

and i own a vw.

[Dark]

9. Like most good humor, it's in poor taste, but still funny.

n/t

[sutz12]

10. Yes.

:rofl:

[zbdent]

11. Got a kick out of the one poster who spewed about the "arab"

poster's "hate religion" ... I would think that, with the freeptard's logic, he should be lumped in with Phelps' inbreeds ...

[noamnety]

12. I dunno, is this funny?

"Out of 1000 films that have Arab & Muslim characters (from the year 1896 to 2000) 12 were positive depictions, 52 were even handed and the rest of the 90O and so were negative."

http://www.jsalloum.org/videos.html

I don't think so.

[iverglas]

13. poor taste?

I can't think of anything to describe it except racist filth.

Volkswagen was at least concerned that others might think so.

http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,14173,1398826,00.html

VW to sue Polo bomb ad duo

Stephen Brook, advertising correspondent
Wednesday January 26, 2005
MediaGuardian.co.uk

Volkswagen is to take legal action against the mystery duo who made the controversial suicide bomber short film that apparently shows an Arab blowing himself up in a Polo car.

After a week of prevarication, the car giant has decided to go ahead and sue the people behind the advert on the grounds that it was damaging its reputation around the world and falsely linked the VW with terrorism.

"We are taking legal action but because it's early stages we cannot comment further," a Volkswagen spokesman said.

But the company privately admitted that it cannot locate Lee and Dan, the London based advertising creative partnership who dreamed up the film, which has been seen around the world via the internet.

Rather old news. But just like so much of the shit hereabouts these days, something I'd expect to see somewhere else and hope not to see here. I'm just a moronic optimist, I know.

[JVS]

14. I didn't even realize it was not an official VW ad. I was looking for the wedding song from

... Napoleon Dynamite and ran across it. I'm glad to hear it wasn't official VW advertising.

[kitty44]

15. No. Racist Propaganda.

Not funny at all. Shame on VW.

[stop the bleeding]

16. If you have to ask then you already know the answer....

this statement can be applied to most questions/situations in life

[JVS]

17. I knew the answer, I was interested in finding out what other people thought.

[Colorado Progressive]

18. Bad taste but I still LOLOL, n/t

[rosesaylavee]

19. Yes. And racist. And heartless.

Edit to add: VW didn't create this vile piece of cr**. Hope they catch the morans who did.

[iverglas]

20. please see post 13 -- this was NOT a Volkswagen ad, and VW may have sued

thanks, and let's not get a bad rumour started.


(edit - not directed at JVS, just because I see some anti-VW sentiment forming on the horizon)

[spindoctor]

21. Hilarious. Taste is subjective and not a yes or no parameter.

What are we? Dualistic Republicans who can only understand terms like black & white, good & bad? I like to think that we have enough grey matter to create a grey area.

Anyway, I got a laugh out of it. Don't know if it will sell Polos.

[Critters2]

22. Okay, I admit it. I laughed. I will promptly turn in my progressive

credentials. :(

[rosesaylavee]

23. Those who are offended can go to Youtube

and alert on this for being the racist piece of cr** that it is.

[noamnety]

24. How did you flag it?

hate speech or other terms of service violation?

[rosesaylavee]

25. Hate Speech

[noamnety]

28. Thanks, I did the same. (nt)

[Bongo Prophet]

26. This is even funnier now that you took out the link and any clues as to WTFTWA!

WTF this was about1!1!!!!1!!

:)

From comments,
I will assume the old VW ad that explodes a la terror bomb. right?

[Liberal In Texas]

27. Right. It's been around for awhile. As a joke, it's just funny.

To have such angst over it being racist...

Nah.

[noamnety]

29. The Iraqis being murdered

over our racist bullshit might have a different view of that "angst."

We got people in my state forum spewing similar crap because refugees want to come here. Racism ruins people's lives. I don't know why that's so hard to understand.

[Bongo Prophet]

30. To me, the thread itself became funny because it got so vague after OP edited the link out..

And mysterious text with a poll that makes absolutely no sense at all.
Read the OP and imagine not knowing what it said originally.
Kinda surreal...

I barely remember the Ad itself. Months ago.
So I guess the ad made little impact, kind of "roll your eyes" and say "ooh, edgy cynicism roxors" or somesuch.