# Is this a 'real' VW commercial? (Warning: potentially disturbing.) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 21, 2005, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-vw-commercial-warning-potentially-disturbing/285849 "2005-01-21T02:29:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-vw-commercial-warning-potentially-disturbing/285849/1 "2005-01-21T02:29:11Z")
(Warning: Not for the squeemish or offenderatti) [This commercial.](http://www.boreme.com/bm/JAN05/a/vw-suicide-bomber/fr.htm) I remember seeing some other VW ads online that would never get airtime over here; is this a real ad, or some clever internet creation? ---
**Author:** ![beltbuckle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@beltbuckle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beltbuckle)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-vw-commercial-warning-potentially-disturbing/285849/2 "2005-01-21T02:33:02Z")
Not sure, but if it is not produced by VW, whomever did it did a very nice job. ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-vw-commercial-warning-potentially-disturbing/285849/3 "2005-01-21T02:37:45Z")
You ain’t kidding. I thought it was funny as all heck, but you’ll never see that on the air here. Too bad. ---
**Author:** ![leenmi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f1d935/32.png) [@leenmi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leenmi)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-vw-commercial-warning-potentially-disturbing/285849/4 "2005-01-21T02:38:39Z")
[Fake](http://www.adrants.com/2005/01/volkwagen-denies-responsibility-for.php) It’s a well done spoof. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-vw-commercial-warning-potentially-disturbing/285849/5 "2005-01-21T02:46:45Z")
Very well done. Hilarious. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Binky\_Rudich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@Binky\_Rudich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binky_Rudich)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-vw-commercial-warning-potentially-disturbing/285849/6 "2005-01-21T02:49:46Z")
Leenmi: You should check your cites before posting…the site you linked to heavilly implies that the ad was in fact created by vw. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-vw-commercial-warning-potentially-disturbing/285849/7 "2005-01-21T02:53:18Z")
According to your link, **leenmi** , it’s **not** a fake or a spoof, despite VW’s denials of having authorized it. According to the link, it was produced by an actual ad agency known for creating “viral” marketing campaigns (ones that spread through email, blogs, and word-of-mouth rather than traditional media). The authors of the linked page suspect that VW secretly authorized the production of the ad in order to have it spread via the internet (as it has) while avoiding the flak that would result from airing it on TV by maintaining “plausable deniability.” ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-vw-commercial-warning-potentially-disturbing/285849/8 "2005-01-21T03:15:30Z")
Shocking at the audacity, but then funy in retrospect. Especially the ending tagline. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-vw-commercial-warning-potentially-disturbing/285849/9 "2005-01-21T03:27:06Z")
[Way ahead of you.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=297649)