VIDEO: Mock VW ad from Jeremy Clarkson draws criticism
Click above to watch the video after the jump
Jeremy Clarkson's humor tends to either amuse or horrify. Some contend the dead-pan Brit occasionally goes too far with his comedic stylings, but overall, we prefer Clarkson just the way he is and don't mind his occasional pot-shots. After all, Top Gear is an entertainment show, and while he might have stepped over the line when he called Prime Minister Gordon Brown a "one-eyed Scottish idiot," or said the people manning the Hyundai booth at the Birmingham Motor Show had all eaten dog and the designer had a spaniel for lunch, or the time he suggested that the Mini's indicators should move up and down in a one-handed Nazi salute, or when he got into tussles with environmental groups, gay rights advocates, a brain injury charity and a prostitute welfare group (full list here), it's all in good fun, right? For some, it isn't.
Clarkson's recent VW Scirocco ad spoof caused complaints to file into the BBC, as the faux spot takes a shot at Poland and may have hit a bit too close to home. Here's the gist of the ad. People are running and cameras are shaking. There is a shot of an empty school room with fresh chocolate milk still dripping off the table. Then comes a voice-over of a woman saying that a state of emergency in Poland, followed by several shots that look more like an LA Lakers championship after-party than any commercial for a hot new Scirocco. Finally, we see a shot of the Scirocco, and the text below says... well, if you haven't seen the episode already, you'll have to hit the jump.
[Source: YouTube ABC News]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
VW GTi 7:05PM (8/06/2009)
Funny, but mean.
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Blackstar 7:16PM (8/06/2009)
I find it funny that they complain more about making fun of Poland/Germany then they do about the TV ad remake with the character shooting himself in the head.
Just goes to show, you can show people blowing their own heads off, just don't make any jokes 'about' the World War II German invasion of Poland. Cause that's 'bad'.
Personally, I found all of them hysterical. Top Gear (UK) is still the best.
VW GTi 8:53PM (8/06/2009)
WWII is still a bit of a sore spot for Americans. The commercial was funny though.
mrfoof82 9:24PM (8/06/2009)
Clarkson probably tried it because he got away with it once before when he said some German car "has a satnav that only goes to Poland."
Joe K. 9:55PM (8/06/2009)
@Blackstar: Eddie Izzard's line on all of that is that we never stopped the dictators that killed their own people, e.g. Pol Pot, Stalin... But we had to stop people who killed people next door e.g. Hitler. I think i could throw this uproar in with that. We're fine if you kill yourself, just don't joke about killing others...
Stupid regardless. The ad is clever, memorable and 'drives' home its point. It's everything an ad wishes it could be.
BrokenMonkey 10:13PM (8/06/2009)
VW GTi,
How is WWII a sore spot for Americans? We won, it was a popular war, there are tons of video games, TV shows, movies, books, etc about it, people love telling war stories, etc. Plus the Americans weren't complaining about the show, the Brits were. So where exactly is your comment coming from?
audioslavery 10:53PM (8/06/2009)
Why do you have to list every slip Jeremy Clarkson has ever made?
Get over yourselves Autoblog, he's genuine, can't ask much more than that.
VW GTi 11:42PM (8/06/2009)
BrokenMonkey,
I guess it's not so much a sore spot, but about respect. All of the things you mentioned are honoring all of the many people who served and died for that cause. Not to mention the many other people had no choice and were killed. While it is funny, I do think this is a tad inappropriate. Just my thoughts.
AngeloD 2:23AM (8/07/2009)
"Don't mention the war!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k7U-_tJVmw
sparrk 3:47AM (8/07/2009)
@ mrfoof82 , the satnav only pointing to Poland thing is because most of the cars stolen in Germany end up in Poland . there are jokes in Europe about Polish car thieves.
TigerMil 1:19PM (8/07/2009)
Hmmm...had to think about it before I got the joke.
Rather like asking a Frog if he speaks German? When he answers 'non' you can then say 'you're welcome.'
Still...you'd think the Poles would be over it by now. Their worst enemy was the Russians.
ack154 7:05PM (8/06/2009)
I thought it was hilarious... but I'm not from Poland.
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ebleyes 8:40PM (8/06/2009)
If it was Berlin to Paris then it would have been more insulting.
engineerd 9:09PM (8/06/2009)
That doesn't matter. It was still funny. I'm tired of all the thin-skinned sissies in the world. It was a freakin' joke! People in general need to get over themselves. The same goes for those who turn everything into a race issue.
Richard 12:29AM (8/07/2009)
Well, were it Paris to Berlin it would be...totally impossible!
Joe K. 7:07AM (8/07/2009)
Berlin to Paris = 655 miles
655 miles can be covered in one tank by cars. Heck if you get those hyper milers from Ford and the new Fusion Hybrid, you could make it back to Berlin on the same tank, haha.
The Ford ECOcentric Fiesta is rated for 74 mpg combined cycle (80+ mpg hwy) and has a 10 gallon tank.
Amethi 7:06PM (8/06/2009)
Complaining about bad jokes is a very British thing, so there will always be those that don't agree with some of his jokes. Personally I love it. Hopefully nothing is lost in translation for those not in the UK?
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Affalterbach 7:10PM (8/06/2009)
I thought that was a very, very funny ad. But then again, I not from either Poland or Germany.
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paul34 7:10PM (8/06/2009)
Regardless, I still believe that segment was probably the most hilarious all season (series) 13. Some of their commercials really had me laughing.
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klitorisaurus 10:18PM (8/06/2009)
That segment had me crying laughing... definitely top ten on the humor chart for sure!