[Jaguar]

Come on guys! if you feel this ad should be taken off air, I suggest you start another campaign to take off the ad(s) which shows someone's dirty toilet, especially during dinner time.
And what about the Complan ad where a mother boasts how she asked her sun to hang from a bar in-order to increase his height. What if other moms start following the same?

[sachinj12]

Originally Posted by arun1100

May be next Polo ad will say "Our engineers have driven a Polo, so you don't need to!"

After this ad, they might really be stupid enough to do that.

@ Shankar, appreciate your efforts. Kuddos to you.

[AbhiJ]

Our engineers have bought a Polo, so you dont need to??

[nirmaljusdoit]

Shankar - +1 to you, not only is the Ad socially irresponsible but its environmentally irresponsible too.

Gives out all the wrong signals about the brand and makes you wonder does the VW group actually respect the environment ?? I felt very disappointed seeing the Ad in the paper today morning, with the kind of destruction of wildlife all around, cant the VW group highlight its contribution if any to preserving nature ?

VW should come out and apologize for letting loose this stupidity on the public.

PS : Just joined your group on FB !

[rg_chn]

IMHO, they're just trying to convey that the car is safe. The last line says,

"or, take our word for it."

The ad is in humour. They aren't being serious when they ask you to drive to a sanctuary and do all that stuff mentioned.
I personally don't think this needs to be taken too seriously.

[SilentEngine]

Generally speaking, we Indians don't take anything seriously as long as it doesn't involve us directly, so not surprising to see the responses here.
I am 100% sure, there were ads which were far more offensive or in bad taste. But that doesn't mean we should be happy with a dumb/stupid ad which is relatively better off. It all depends on how you look at things.

Originally Posted by Jaguar

Come on guys! if you feel this ad should be taken off air, I suggest you start another campaign to take off the ad(s) which shows someone's dirty toilet, especially during dinner time.
And what about the Complan ad where a mother boasts how she asked her sun to hang from a bar in-order to increase his height. What if other moms start following the same?

That's one main reason why you shouldn't switch on TV while eating.

[shankar.balan]

great debate
many thanks for joining in guys

however I want to simply submit one small thing - Ive seen quite a few people of various types, backgrounds and so on, taking whats written in an ad quite literally and seriously.

we do have a certain percentage of such characters.

Now we can all wrangle and analyse what percentage of this small percentage will actually go and buy a VW Polo and what percentage of that lot will actually try out what the ad says. This can go on ad infinitum.

The only point is that while one can and indeed must preserve a sense of humour, take things lightly etc, this particular kind of ad is simply quite stupid.

And in my opinion anything that seems to advocate (even in a humorous manner) something socially irresponsible, environmentally irresponsible or harmful to animals/ humans is not quite up there.

Creativity is certainly boundless - so let the creative chaps take a more positive, responsible slant, while continuing to remain humourous, rather than this kind of thing.

[pranavt]

Panties and knots...

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

however I want to simply submit one small thing - Ive seen quite a few people of various types, backgrounds and so on, taking whats written in an ad quite literally and seriously.

So who is at fault here? Do you ban creativity because of 1% of the generally retarded public?

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

The only point is that while one can and indeed must preserve a sense of humour, take things lightly etc, this particular kind of ad is simply quite stupid.

Who appointed you as our advertising watchdog? Judge, jury and executioner, eh? Go argue with the government or something. Atleast my great-grandchildren will get better roads.

[Spitfire]

Now those who are alright with the ad and think they get the humorous part, do you really think shankar_balan thinks that people will go in their Polo and do exactly what the ad says?

Comeon!!!

Thats not what he is pointing out. He is trying to change a mindset here which is being breed by this ad. That honking and more importantly not caring for the well being about the other living creatures on this earth is being taken in a very casual way.

How many of you have seen idiots honking in the reserve forests and roads that pass through forest ranges, etc?

How many have seen wild animals being chased by people driving in cars to scare them just for their cheap thrills to see the animals run in utter fright.

These type of activities sometime alter the way an animal lives in the forest.

If there is the only stream next to a road and the animals have no where to go, if they are scared once by the honking they will not come back to the place, instead probably dying out of thirst or dying of exhaustion trying to find a different watering hole.

Hope this clears up a bit.

Those who feel strongly about the fairness creams, why not do the same as shankar_balan instead of trying to priortize causes here.

[pranavt]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

Now those who are alright with the ad and think they get the humorous part, do you really think shankar_balan thinks that people will go in their Polo and do exactly what the ad says?

Ask him yourself; I think his fingers are still itching after that last outburst. And who decides if the ad is stupid or morally responsible? Same thing with tastes. You know how fickle and varied those are.

Perhaps he can get the Shiv Sainiks on his side. Nothing like burning a VW showroom or setting a few billboards on fire.

I bet the admen are laughing their way to the bank. Nothing like free publicity

[shankar.balan]

thanks for your input.

this is a forum to share points of view. I have shared mine just as many others do as well.

You are perfectly at liberty to agree or disagree.

I am not a self appointed watchdog, but rather than crib about a circumstance I believe in taking direct action in things that I believe in - could not be bothered about winning any popularity sweepstakes.

the complaint now lies in the hands of the ad council of india - I initiated it and am happy to own up to the same.

Frankly your particular views on this action as per your posts, do not interest me personally one little bit because I believe in acting rather than simply sitting and yelling on matters in which I have a strong conviction.

However, let me say to you that there is no excuse for impoliteness as can be surmised from the content of your post(s).

Originally Posted by pranavt

Panties and knots...


So who is at fault here? Do you ban creativity because of 1% of the generally retarded public?



Who appointed you as our advertising watchdog? Judge, jury and executioner, eh? Go argue with the government or something. Atleast my great-grandchildren will get better roads.

[pranavt]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

thanks for your input.

this is a forum to share points of view. I have shared mine just as many others do as well.

You are perfectly at liberty to agree or disagree.

I am not a self appointed watchdog, but rather than crib about a circumstance I believe in taking direct action in things that I believe in - could not be bothered about winning any popularity sweepstakes.

the complaint now lies in the hands of the ad council of india - I initiated it and am happy to own up to the same.

Frankly your particular views on this action as per your posts, do not interest me personally one little bit because I believe in acting rather than simply sitting and yelling on matters in which I have a strong conviction.

If I cared about it, I wouldn't yell. My free time's better spent on arguments and discussions in forums and helping out others. Besides, your interest in my actions and my post is gauged by the length of your post. Ignoring it would've sent a clearer signal perhaps.

However, let me say to you that there is no excuse for impoliteness as can be surmised from the content of your post(s).

Sincere apologies if they offended you. It was not my intention to do so.

[RajaTaurus]

Guys, I was watching this ad and it looks most have missed the point the ad is trying to make. It is the last line - "Or Take Our Word For It." It is meant to convey that instead of doing on your own stupid, dangerous and atrocious ways of testing a car, it advises to take VW's word for it. I don't think it is actually asking you to go out and confront a Rhino. It means you take our word for its toughness - OR - go do stupid things like this to test yourself.

Originally Posted by arun1100

A hoarding near my house having a Polo ad says: "Our engineers have tested the handling, so you don't need to!" Can't we do what we want?!

May be next Polo ad will say "Our engineers have driven a Polo, so you don't need to!"

Here is the ad from TOI.

I don't see anything wrong in saying 'our engineers have tested the handling, so you don't have to'.
Testing happens under controlled conditions with close monitoring and all kinds of safety precautions by qualified engineers - at its limits. They want to convey is - you don't have to test its handling at limits again, but you may just enjoy its handling.

[PAVAN KADAM]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Has anyone seen the POLO AD in TOI this morning?

I cant understand what VW were thinking or what their agency were thinking when they produced the silly ad for VW Polo which came in TOI this morning.

I mean, the ad actually exhorts owners to drive their VW Polo to a wild place, seek out and find the wildest, meanest looking Rhino, create a face to face situation with the poor animal and then bang on the HORN!!

This is without a doubt amongst the most idiotic ads I have ever come across!!

It shows scant respect for the already dwindling wildlife resources of the world.Wild animals like Rhinos usually get highly irritated by loud sounds and horns etc and their behaviour is unpredictable.It would be stupid for someone to try this kind of thing as well as downright incorrect, bearing in mind what Ive said earlier. It encourages or appears to encourage highly socially-irresponsible behaviour not to mention adding to the already unbearable noise pollution levels in the country.

I am pretty sure there are enough and more people in our country who will take things literally and try to do exactly what the ad says - probably will go an honk at some poor inoffensive Bull or other animal and/ or a larger vehicle or something!

Anywhere outside of India especially in the West, loud honking is considered impolite and to be done only in cases of emergency/ extreme situations. - Yet here in India an European car manufacturer of the likes of VW goes around actively encouraging people to use their horns!!

In my estimation this ad is more or less as stupid as the earlier Maruti SX4 Ad in which the guy tries a face off with a lorry. Or even the other SX4 ad which is in bad taste- where the normally polite, considerate guy becomes a completely different animal when behind the wheel of his SX4!

I think you need to read and understand the AD properly.

The ad is very inspiring and meaningful.

They re-iterate on the reliability of the car.

You dont have to do all the above, Its tested against all odds.

Just take their word and be happy you got the most RELIABLE car to drive.

[anekho]

In case you guy's haven't seen the tv version of the ad, here it is:

YouTube - Volkswagen Polo TVC (India) - Rhino - DDB Mudra

Just adding fuel to the fire