‘Racist’ Nissan commercial angers Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has threatened a boycott of Nissan after the car company aired the following commercial on Israeli TV:
The new campaign by Renault-Nissan caused an uproar in the Gulf when it showed a group of Saudi oil barons screaming and attacking the Renault-Nissan vehicle.
The Saudis are shown leaving a hotel and encountering the new, fuel-efficient vehicle. One man pounds his fists on the car and is then held back by his companions as he shouts at it, “Hawks should peck at you day and night.”
At the end of the commercial, the voice-over says, “It’s clear the oil companies won’t like you.”
“It’s my opinion that Nissan made a huge error by igniting these [racist] instincts,” official Hani al-Wafa told MBC TV, a Saudi-run station headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. “We need to apply punishments… against these things. In order for Nissan to keep its interests in the region, it must apologize.”
[hat tip to Damien for sending us this story!]
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The Arab oil producing countries should boycott selling any oil to Japan. That would get the point across in a hurry.
Stereotyping the typical-enraged oil tycoon? Maybe. But I fail to see anything “racist” pertaining to Saudi’s unless I’m missing something here. I’m open minded so if anyone wants to tell me how it is then please do.
The way I see it, they could do the same with the stereotypical Texas oil tycoon.
@David: Yeah. And likely spark a war. I don’t care if Japan is not allowed to have a standing army. If they stopped selling oil to Japan for a COMMERCIAL I don’t think that anybody would stop Japan, and most likely a lot of people would jump on board. Because if they stopped selling oil to a whole COUNTRY because of one COMMERCIAL that made them angry, who knows what other stupid reason they would stop providing oil for?
Either way, that would never happen because they are greed bastards.
For god’s sakes people it is a COMMERCIAL. And maybe it’s only due to the fact that I don’t understand the language, however it doesn’t appear racist to me at all. Anti-big-oil-companies? Yes. Racist? No.
It just seems to be go ahead and bite the hand that feeds you because you don’t like the fact that you in fact are being fed at the good graces of your oil baron masters, much as you may not like it thems is da facts.
Time for the PM to do his heavy bowing facade and pretend apologies for offences take, figuratively slap the offending parties, etc. Pretend to be a civilized country. Japan has no choice.
Wow…that WAS racist. First of all, he’s pretty much swearing in the video. Second, this is being aired on Israel TV makes it more of a propaganda video than a commercial.
Nothing racist about it at all.
I really think that ‘racist’ is tossed around far too lightly nowadays. This commercial isn’t by definition racist. It is however offensive and insensitive and it really wasn’t very prudent for a multinational corporation like Renault-Nissan to make a commercial like this.
It is absolutely hilarious though.
The commercial says just as much about Israel which is a racist apartheid state.
Arafat, is that you? I thought you were dead…
I don’t think Israel should exist…but getting off topic
there was a very similar print ad from volvo here in switzerland a few months ago: http://www.persoenlich.com/img/news/content/img254686.jpg
STEREOTYPING IS NOT ALWAYS RACISM.
As has been said already, I agree with the fact that this commercial could certainly be offensive to ‘the oil barons’ but I fail to see it as specifically racist.
Granted they probably shouldn’t have had something akin to swearing in the commercial, however how many times have car companies introduced poorly translated model names etc into foreign countries.
This isn’t really so much about the commercial being racist as it is about offense being taken by something that could be funny if it had been presented better and had the other party had a modicum of good humor.
Is this a Jewish stereotopical view to Arab?
Why don’t you blaim on Jew?
It IS racist, no doubt about it. Think about where it was aired, who it was marketed to, and then try and tell me it’s not racist.
Bwahahaha! Funny commercials are the best entertainment (and most effective marketing tool). But why was it in Russian???
What?? What is racist about that?
I think there are people who want to feel offended.
Not racist
There is nothing racist about it at all. It must strike a cord of truth to get em upset in the UAE.
This is a over reaction.
no it is not racist thing, it’s just a arab intolerant!!!
The apocalypse is upon us, brought about by narcisists who demand apologies for silly cartoons and half-witted jokes. Take your pick: Arab, Japanese, American. It doesn’t matter. The catalyst for WW3 will be an off-hand remark from some Hollywood bimbo – a remark found offensive by a monkey sitting on a rock.
Actually I think the apocaplypse will be brought about by ‘tolerant’ ‘liberals’ who actually give these kooks the time of day and media exposure they so desperately crave.
and so I thing it’s successful commercial. and funny.
That was such a funny yet tasteless commercial.