Post by the German automaker about the car was the target of homophobic criticism and questions from a marketing strategy point of view.
A post by Volkswagen about the new Polo model this week was at the center of a controversy already known to Brazilians. All because the action, published last week on the automaker’s social networks, featured a gay couple.
Created by AlmapBBDO, the material features a couple of two men. In the caption, the text: “Do you know what evolved along with you? The Polo. What was already good got even better, with much more security and technology. speeds and connects with everything through VW Play”.
It didn’t take long, however, for the post to receive homophobic comments to questions about Volkswagen’s own strategy. “The intention was to conquer an audience that accepts diversity, that accepts gender freedom, that accepts people as they really are. female or male”, says Mariana Munis, professor of the publicity and advertising course at Mackenzie, in Campinas.
In a statement, Volkswagen stated that the promotion of Diversity & Inclusion is one of the strategic pillars of the brand and that the premise is to ensure respectful and inclusive behavior, inside and outside the company. “We have the responsibility to continue learning how we can contribute to the fight against any form of prejudice, as we consider it essential to reconcile differences for the construction of a fair society for all”, says an excerpt from the note.
Professor of the communication and advertising course at ESPM Rio, Karla Gobo recalls that the idea of ’universal advertising’, from years ago, no longer exists. “Today, we have this debate of representation, of recognition in which people want to be seen, to identify with brands”, she says.
In some comments, the target was Volkswagen’s marketing, calling the strategy ‘risky’. Kobo says no. “I don’t see it as a risky strategy, as brands today are facing the need to position themselves. They are having to choose the public and the way in which they will talk to them”, emphasizes the professor.
Evandro Luiz Lopes, professor of the professional master’s degree in consumer behavior at ESPM, disruptive communications are becoming increasingly frequent. “The positioning will have a positive impact on the general public, but some consumers of the brand will feel impacted and confronted. We will have a polarization: society applauding and part of consumers feeling offended “, he says.
This repercussion comes, in part, from the association of cars with heteronormative masculinity. Just look at old-time car campaigns, where the man was the driver and the girl was a passenger. With the advancement of the agenda for the freedom and rights of minorities, companies have also advanced in their inclusion policies, both within the offices and in advertising campaigns.
“Traditional car advertising usually showed a heterosexual couple with very specific gender roles, so usually with the man driving and a woman interested in that guy because of his car, so we saw this association several times”, says Gobo, from ESPM Rio.
Recurring cases
Volkswagen’s campaign was not the first to be the target of homophobia. Last year, for example, Burger King launched the ‘How to Explain?’ campaign, which shows how the LGBTQIA+ theme can be simpler than it seems for children.
Throughout the film, the protagonists of the action – developed by David – share their real vision of diversity, always accompanied by those responsible. The questions were asked by professionals and the answers are completely spontaneous, through an unscripted recording.
In 2015, O Boticário’s Valentine’s Day campaign also became the target of hate speech. The film, at the time, featured different types of couples, heterosexual and homosexual, exchanging gifts.
In 2019, it was Natura’s turn for the action called ‘Coleção do Amor’, which said that ‘all colors fit in love’. The brand came to be the victim of a boycott fostered by homophobic people on the networks.
