Car company apologizes for a terribly sexist tv ad


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Audi has issued an apology after airing a sexist commercial in China in which they compared women to used cars.

The ad is set at a wedding ceremony, and the mother of the groom interrupts the wedding to inspect the bride as if she were a used car. The mother pinches the bride's ears, lips, and nose before the groom pulls her off.

A voice can be heard saying, "An important decision must be made carefully," according to an English translation. Here's the commercial in its entirety.

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Audi, the German luxury brand, is a part of Volkswagen Group. A spokesman for the company told USA Today that Audi "deeply regrets" running the ad. The ad was created by the used car division, and automakers are required to partner up with manufacturers to produce vehicles in China.

"The ad's perception that has been created for many people does not correspond to the values of our company in any way," Audi said in a statement.

The company said the ad was only made used in China, and it has been removed.

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"The responsible department of the joint venture has arranged a thorough investigation of the internal control and coordination processes so that an incident like this can be excluded in the future," Audi said.

The ad was clearly sexist and wasn't particularly good otherwise, so the desired effect of the commercial wasn't accomplished. While they did the right thing by removing the ad, it should have never been created in the first place.

(h/t USA Today)

 

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