Was Volkswagen's racist ad a deliberate act of sabotage?

VW
(Image credit: VW)

Voltage, an arm of advertising agency DDB that's responsible solely for Volkswagen marketing, has announced a full investigation will be taking place into the production of ad released on Instagram last week, after it was suggested racist messaging was planted on purpose. 

In case you missed it, VW ran a (now deleted) 10-second clip on Instagram, promoting its new Golf. The ad followed an interracial couple in Argentina and mimicked the style of a recent Tik Tok trend. But the use of a giant white hand flicking a darker-skinned figure away from its car and into a cafe sparked outrage and disbelief – especially because the café name translates into German as 'Little Coloniser'. 

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Georgia Coggan
Editor

Georgia has worked on Creative Bloq since 2018, and has been the site's Editor since 2022. With a specialism in branding and design, Georgia is also Programme Director of CB's award scheme – the Brand Impact Awards. As well as immersing herself with the industry through attending events like Adobe Max and the D&AD Awards and steering the site's content streams, Georgia has an eye on new commercial opportunities and ensuring they reflect the needs and interests of creatives.