A new advertisement for Volkswagen’s e-Golf has been banned by the U.K. Advertising Standard Authority after receiving only 3 complaints from people alleging that the commercial portrayed “dangerous gender stereotyping.”
The commercial, which you can watch here, showed various clips of feats by men, like a man floating inside a spaceship, then ended with a mother sitting on a park bench next to a baby stroller:
Here's what the ASA said about why they banned the ad, “By juxtaposing images of men in extraordinary environments and carrying out adventurous activities with women who appeared passive or engaged in a stereotypical care-giving role, we considered that the ad directly contrasted stereotypical male and female roles and characteristics in a manner that gave the impression that they were exclusively associated with one gender.
We concluded that the ad presented gender stereotypes in way that was likely to cause harm and therefore breached the Code.”
Yeah.
Apparently, portraying mothers and babies is now illegal in the U.K.
Check out what people are saying about this ridiculous ban on Twitter:
Summit News commented on this:
A Volkswagen commercial has been banned in the UK for violating “gender stereotypes” because it showed a woman caring for a baby.
Yes, really.
The ad shows a scene of a woman and a man in a tent on a cliff face, two male astronauts floating in a spaceship and a male para-athlete with a prosthetic leg doing the long jump.
At the end of the clip, a woman is seen sat on a bench next to a pram.
The commercial was banned by the UK Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) after just three people complained, with the ASA asserting that it violated gender stereotyping rules.
“By juxtaposing images of men in extraordinary environments and carrying out adventurous activities with women who appeared passive or engaged in a stereotypical care-giving role, we considered that the ad directly contrasted stereotypical male and female roles and characteristics in a manner that gave the impression that they were exclusively associated with one gender,” said the ASA. “We concluded that the ad presented gender stereotypes in way that was likely to cause harm and therefore breached the Code.”
Volkswagen tried to explain the meaning behind the ad, but it was to no avail.
“The core message of the ad was centred on the ability of the human spirit to adapt to challenges and change brought about by circumstances. They illustrated that through a number of different scenarios featuring various characters so that as diverse an audience as possible would be able to identify with the message.”
NY Daily News also said:
Volkswagen’s e-Golf electric car ad, which also aired in June, shows two male astronauts floating in a spaceship, a male para-athlete with a prosthetic leg taking a long jump and a couple — who the company said were climbers — inside a tent in an apparent attempt to depict people adapting to challenges.
But the ad ends with a woman sitting on a bench next to a stroller, a drastically contrasting scene that complainants said reinforces the stereotype of women in a care-giving role.
olkswagen told the British agency in a written response that the core message of the ad is the ability to adapt to changing circumstances, which include “welcoming a newborn into the family.”
The advertising authority acknowledged the company’s message, but it still found an issue with how Volkswagen depicted genders in the video.
“By juxtaposing images of men in extraordinary environments and carrying out adventurous activities with women who appeared passive or engaged in a stereotypical care-giving role, we considered that the ad directly contrasted stereotypical male and female roles and characteristics in a manner that gave the impression that they were exclusively associated with one gender,” the agency wrote.
A spokesman for the car manufacturer told the Daily News that the company was disappointed by the decision, but it would work to adhere to the new guidelines.
Geraldine Ingham, head of marketing for Volkswagen in the U.K., defended the ad in a statement Wednesday.
“As both a leader within this business and as a mother, I do not believe that the roles of the women in this advertisement are in any way portrayed negatively," she said. "Just like the men, they are shown taking part in challenging situations, such as in a tent perched on a mountainside and in a spacecraft, while another is shown to be embarking on what is surely life’s greatest and most valuable role — raising another human being.”
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