Filed under: Etc., Marketing/Advertising, Hatchbacks
NSFW: SEAT's controversial Personal Space commercial
A new commercial for the SEAT Altea hatchback has been receiving some extra attention in the UK for its Rated R content. The ad is an extension of SEAT's campaign called 'Space For Everything But Compromise' and shows people shrouded in colorful bubbles that represent their own personal space. That's all well and good if you stick to showing a brigade of bubble people on the subway, but SEAT went one step further and shows a clip of a nekkid couple in the middle of copulating, their personal space bubbles morphed together in the heat of the moment. On account of the bubble bang, SEAT is only allowed to run this version of the commercial after 9pm, but we've got it for you thanks to the wonderment that is YouTube. It's only on for a split second, so we contacted SEAT and had them send over a high-res screencap of the intimate moment (click pic above). The automaker apparently doesn't seem to mind the controversy, as Head of Marketing for SEAT UK Steve Robertson explains, "...it's fun, entertaining and also a bit cheeky."
We're rather shocked at the hubbub considering we've seen worse things than this on boob tubes in the U.S. We thought Europeans were supposed to be comfortable with nudity and sex in mainstream media. Perhaps that doesn't include the UK.
[Source: YouTube, SEAT]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
UKer 5:28PM (10/10/2006)
Erm, what hubbub? I live in UK and haven't seen a mention of this ad in any newspaper, mag or news channel. Perhaps you should exaggerate less.
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Chris 5:42PM (10/10/2006)
yea....that was some hardcore porn going on there. sure...ok
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DPC car videos 7:05PM (10/10/2006)
oh boy, the people that set the restrictions should loosen up a bit.
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Tiago do Vale 7:24PM (10/10/2006)
Yeap: as far as I'm concerned, the first time I heard any fuzz about this was in US media -here, right now. Is there any need to "make" news?
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Pete 9:42PM (10/10/2006)
Great... now I gotta clean mt keyboard off ;) That was weak
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P1h3r1e3d13 9:44PM (10/10/2006)
If it's being shown in the UK, is there maybe an English version so we could understand it?
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That One Person 10:16PM (10/10/2006)
Gotta love America! The only people to make a commercial seem more dirty than it is...
No offense to anyone on here or Autoblog itself, but I am tired of EVERYone making a big deal out of crap that is shown on TV. If you dont like it, CHANGE THE GODDAMN CHANNEL!!!!! Or just watch your kids so little Johnny doesnt "accidentally" discover the Spice Channel...
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Corey 11:16PM (10/10/2006)
#7 & 8 - Uhh... please point out where in the blog entry that mentions America is the one making a fuss about it?
Autoblog - I'm disappointed in you. I expected to see gratuitous boobage and romping.
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Dimitry 11:57PM (10/10/2006)
Really, in Europe, no one would make a big deal out of this, Janet Jackson's titty, or anything else sexual that airs on TV.
Sigh, only in America this would be count 'controversial'.
Dimitry
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AMcA 12:21AM (10/11/2006)
"No sex, please. We're British."
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VW-Guy 11:41AM (10/11/2006)
So what's all the drama about? If that offends ANYONE on this planet, they really need to get themselves a life.
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