In a swirl of intrigue that would make Deep Throat swallow his pack of Lucky Strikes, the VW Polo "Suicide Bomber" spot we posted earlier this week is at the center of a controversy that's pitting a viral marketing firm with a record for edgy "non-ads" against the PR sheen of a major automaker.
According to digital marketing site, Revolution magazine, the ad was produced by boutique agency, Lee and Dan, and much like the now infamous European ad for Ford's SportKa — in which the car's sunroof decapitates the head of a curious feline — that Ford later denied was legitimate, has been circulating the Internet for days. Adland interviewed Dan, of Lee and Dan, who won't confirm that Volkswagen bankrolled the suicide-bomber ad — only that a director named Stuart (surely a CIA cover) — was his contact on the project. Dan also told Revolution that the ad was released "by mistake" and "wasn't for public consumption." Oh, well then ...
As if on cue, or legitimately fearing a public relations meltdown, Volkswagen denied contracting the ad (now removed from the Lee and Dan site) — which featured a suicide bomber pulling up in front of an outdoor cafe in a VW Polo and detonating, only to be thwarted by the the Polo's body strength — as did its ad agency of record, DDB.
The controversy revolves around whether or not the ad is part of a complex campaign designed to serve competing interests — young car buyers' positive response to irreverence and auto executives' need to sell cars to both hipsters and conservative families from Colorado Springs — or if it's a spec job that saw daylight unintentionally. More, surely, to come.
Volkswagen distances itself from suicide bomber viral ad [Revolution]
Ford's Viral Firm Found Behind Too-Hot VW Spot [Marketing Vox]
VW Viral Ad Maker Interviewed, Perhaps to Be Sued [Marketing Vox]
adland: a short chat with Dan, from Lee and Dan (LAD) [Adland]