The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Volkswagen becomes "Voltwagen": VW reaps Shitstorm after supposedly renaming

2021-04-04T16:19:28.761Z


When it comes to advertising, Volkswagen absolutely has to learn new things: After the debacle with Breitbart and the racist golf video, the car manufacturer has now once again driven with full force into a one-way street.


Enlarge image

"An announcement in the spirit of April 1st":

There will be no change of name to "Voltwagen"

Photo: 

Friso Gentsch / dpa

The news seemed spectacular: the auto giant Volkswagen is changing its brand name in the USA to "Voltwagen".

In the course of the strategic realignment of the group towards e-mobility, a surprising, but at first glance, quite appropriate step.

Alone: ​​The supposed renaming is a PR gag, as VW has now admitted.

Because the company initially confirmed the message and at the same time the share gained significantly in value, it is now criticizing the premature April Fool's joke.

The farce began earlier this week with a press release allegedly accidentally published prematurely.

In it, Volkswagen of America announced, including a statement from its boss

Scott Keogh

, that the new name, a play on words with volt as a unit of electrical voltage, is a commitment to e-mobility.

Shortly afterwards, the message disappeared from the VW website, but only after US journalists saw it.

As stated in the following reports from the US media, VW confirmed when asked that it was a serious message.

In fact, the press release appeared a second time the next day - only to be deleted again.

A VW spokesman in the US finally told the German Press Agency on Tuesday evening (local time): "There will be no renaming of Volkswagen of America. The supposed renaming was intended as an announcement in the spirit of April 1st, around the start of the fully electric To highlight SUV ID.4 and to communicate our commitment to electromobility for everyone. "

Will the US Securities and Exchange Commission intervene?

For VW, the confusion could have serious consequences on the part of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, reported the AP news agency.

There was initially no reaction from the SEC.

The German financial regulator Bafin merely said it was routinely monitoring Volkswagen shares after the recent rally.

On Tuesday, the price of the Volkswagen preferred share on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange climbed by almost 5 percent.

Since the beginning of March the VW share has been on an even more lively soaring flight than before, but is also fluctuating quite strongly.

A VW spokesman in Germany said on Wednesday: "Due to the advertising campaign, we cannot see any influence on the stock market price. That was and is not the aim of the campaign."

The intention was to create attention "for an important corporate and industrial topic in the USA".

"To this end, an integrated national US marketing campaign - also with a twinkle in the eye - was developed and implemented."

Positive feedback on social networks showed that the goal had been achieved.

"At the same time, we regret that we should have overshot the campaign goal in the perception of individuals," said the spokesman.

I controlled the campaign Volkswagen of America.

The responsible departments of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand in Wolfsburg had been informed of this in advance.

It was only in 2019 that the Volkswagen brand, which is still having to recover from the diesel scandal, comprehensively revised its brand identity, including its logo, in order to appear more authentic and environmentally friendly.

Third advertising faux pas within a year

In the social media, Volkswagen was also heavily criticized for its PR gag.

Some users recalled the diesel scandal and the associated years of misleading customers.

"Apparently nobody at VW said: Hey, we shouldn't lie to the press - we already lied

about

emissions," tweeted

Dawn Kopecki

, managing editor of CNBC.

"If VW were half as good at protecting the climate as it was with calculated puns, you wouldn't have to worry about the future of the group," criticized

Benjamin Stephan

from Greenpeace.

"So that" Voltwagen "does not remain a hollow PR gag, VW needs a clear and quick farewell to the internal combustion engine," he demanded.

Also,

Pedro Pacheco

, auto expert at the research firm Gartner, assessed the promotion critical.

"On the one hand, it is good that they want to be brave, since large auto companies are more known for being reluctant to take risks," he said.

"But it was a risky move that could leave customers disappointed."

The advertising of the car company has recently led to controversy several times.

In February, for example, an advertisement appeared on the right-wing US news portal "Breitbart".

VW attributed this to a faulty filter.

Last year, VW also had to withdraw a racist promotional video for the new Golf.

Inside, a black man was being pushed around by a white hand.

mg / dpa-afx, Reuters

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2021-04-04

You may like

News/Politics 2024-03-25T15:34:56.986Z

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.