Volkswagen Admits To Running Racist Instagram Ad; Issues Apology: ”The Video Is Inappropriate and Tasteless”

German car company Volkswagen, which was founded in 1937 as “the people’s car” during the Nazi’s reign, has pulled an ad from their social media after many deemed it racist and inappropriate. On Wednesday, the automotive giant said it pulled the ad because it “can understand the outrage and anger.”

“Without question: the video is inappropriate and tasteless,” Volkswagen confessed in a statement. “We will clarify how something like this could happen, and there will be consequences.”

In the 10-second clip that was posted to the company’s Instagram on Tuesday, a large white hand is seen shoving a black man away from a yellow Volkswagen Golf that is parked on the street, before flicking him inside of a French cafe, named Petit Colon, which means “Little Colonist” in French. Further confirming the racist aspects of the ad, a tagline that read “Der Neue Golf,” which means “The new Golf” appears on the screen in a fade-in manner that appears to spell out the N-word in German.

WTF! @volkswagen it doesn't get any more obviouse. This is not only racist its deeply unsettling. So what's the agenda behind this? @shaderoomnews pic.twitter.com/KldCjgcC79

— LuckyLuckyLu (@yippiyeahluuu) May 19, 2020

Initially, Volkswagen attempted to defend the ad online, saying, “As you can imagine, we are surprised and shocked that our Instagram story could be so misunderstood.” However, the post was ultimately pulled once the online backlash intensified.