Audi drops not to subtle paedophile car advert!

[Knoxinbox]

There is no way this was just badly thought through....

I think this comment sums it up

“Let's add it up: Red=eroticism, sports car=substitute for potency, animal print mini-skirt=sex appeal, banana=phallic symbol. But sure this is all just accidental...”

Do you think this was someone testing the waters so to speak about how society might respond to something like this? I’ve read quite a few things on here about how the MRA has as its core aim to normalise paedophilia as just another sexual preference (eg minor attracted person) and this was what immediately jumped to my mind with this ad.

What do you think??

I agree with the OP. There's dodgy subliminal messaging there. I'd be less suspicious if ad agencies didn't have a long history of this sort of stuff.

Check out this Baby Soft abomination from the 70s

Boycotted audi (previously owned one) when changed cars, because of their awful woman falling over advert a few years ago.

And here’s another v sexist 2017 audi ad, in China
thediplomat.com/2017/07/audi-apologizes-for-ad-in-china-comparing-women-to-used-cars/

The ‘only paedophiles see paedophilia’ thing is tiresome

Its like ‘only racists see racism’

I understand what you’re saying. But it is not always the case. If you have ever read snippets of the diaries of peadophiles they will see an act like a child’s skirt rising or touching their leg as the child giving out a sexual message and ‘flirting’ with the man. Things that us normal people know are nothing sexual but a peado has a twisted mind.

@RufustheSniggeringReindeer

The ‘only paedophiles see paedophilia’ thing is tiresome

Its like ‘only racists see racism’

Exactly.

Without the ability to “imagine” the nefarious motivations of child abusers and peadophiles and then act accordingly to minimise those risks there would be no such thing as child safeguarding.

But it is not always the case

At no point have a said that its never the case

Its the ONLY bit i have a problem with

One assumes victims may Also read into things as well as people who work both with paedophiles and their victims

It's an odd advert. None of it 'goes' together, it's like they did 3 different adverts and put them all together and none of them work.

My actual first thought when I saw it was 'that's not a safe place for a small child to stand'. When I heard the slogan it just puzzled me more.

Adverts are supposed to stick in your head and I guess this one did just not perhaps the way it was intended. As someone in the market for a family car, still not buying an Audi.

says more about those making the observations to me.

If you're incapable of recognising the techniques used by the advertising industry and how/why they influence purchasing then that says more about you than about the people that can.

Not a single aspect of that add was accidental. It was all chosen and designed for a purpose. That purpose wasn't 'I know, red car is red, child is cute, and banana is fruit - that'll sell a high power car'.

The decisions were made in the context of an industry where imagery has clear meaning and intent. As has been said, red car = power, banana = phallic symbol, female used to sell cars = sex. It's not exactly cryptic. So either, best case scenario, someone has chosen these images without thinking of any of those connotations, and then it has been through approvals wherein no one else considered them, in which case their marketing team need to go back to uni to learn the basics, or they have deliberately chosen images which, in the public psyche, relate to sex and power, and then applied them to a child. Which is vile.

I can’t believe anyone can look at that advert and think sexual thoughts!

I don’t think sexual thoughts. But my parenting instinct does kick in and tell me to grab that little girl and protect her- she looks like she’s been “arranged” or styled to provoke...

If that was an adult or teen female draped on a red supercar wearing sunglasses, a short leopard print dress, eating a banana, it would definitely be sexual.

I guess what I’m saying is while I don’t see it as sexual, it looks like someone is trying to mimic sexuality with a very young child.

So this is AT LEAST the third v bad/dodgy Audi ad: this one, the one of an attractive woman falling over (comparing her to cars that look good but are not good!!! can’t find that online anymore), and the one in China comparing a woman to a used car.

Appalling.

[quote OvaHere]I agree with the OP. There's dodgy subliminal messaging there. I'd be less suspicious if ad agencies didn't have a long history of this sort of stuff.

Check out this Baby Soft abomination from the 70s

[/quote] Fucking hell.

It is odd and yes it is a worry that this got clearance as an add for a sporty car. Maybe young women on the board do not link the imagery the same way as 40+ women do?

[quote Lettera]See also this thread:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3986489-Audi-ad-girl-eating-banana[/quote]
Sorry I did a search and couldn’t see any other threads on it. Glad most of the people on that thread seem to agree how utterly inappropriate it is.

Maybe it isn’t some peadophile ad executive somewhere testing the waters to see how ready society is for this sh*t.... (even though it should be pretty obvious by now how many abusers are in positions of power and influence).

But like a pp said upthread about calling out all the subtle forms of sexism/racism etc because of the drip drip infiltrating nature of it into society I think it is definitely part of that. 10 years ago I bet no one would have thought that the TRA/MRA movement would have gained the traction it has in such a short space of time. To have laws changed in multiple countries reversing sex-based protection for women where mean with pensises can now access women’s rape centres, refuges, prisons, hospital wards, sports teams and women’s only short lists.

When I read on here about the evidence that paedophiles are trying to get “MAPs” to become a socially acceptable sexual orientation it makes me sick in my mouth. I feel like things like this ad matter. It’s all part of the boiling frog

If you're incapable of recognising the techniques used by the advertising industry and how/why they influence purchasing then that says more about you than about the people that can.

This. It says some very worrying things about people's media literacy, or lack thereof.

mean I mean “biological men” obviously

Since when did little girls wear leopard skin patterns.

The Cadbury flake will always be remembered. The men on the board of Audi knew that. Why not use a car mad teenage boy?

If the little girl was in inappropriate clothing and was draped on the bonnet eating the banana in a ‘seductive’ way. Then I would perhaps agree.
But she has a ‘cool’ stance, her outfit is what many little girls wear and the only flesh showing is below her knees. She’s not wearing make up or anything, the sunglasses are to reinforce the cool ‘look’. She has short hair which most sexualised girls are showed to have long hair as well as trainers and a denim jacket. The whole advert is trying to show her being cool. And the banana is no where near her face.

I am glad that people are so hot on child abuse. But if she was eating a chocolate bar instead people would complain it should be fruit. And if it was a boy people would complain it was sexist.

Ok, let’s hypothetically say it isn’t sexual

Why is a little girl almost draped on the bonnet like an adult would?

Why is not in the car in a car seat instead?

Why is she eating a banana, a fruit that is well known as a fellatio pun?

Why not an apple?

Why a little girl and not a little boy?

Why put them all together with the slogan “make your heart beat faster in every way”?

At first glance, the advert does look innocent, but put all together it really isn’t.

The slogan doesn't make sense but I didn't see anything odd about the ad. I thought it was implying either that she was the driver or that she was pretending it was hers and being cool.

Since when did little girls wear leopard skin patterns.

Most girls I know wear animal print patterns.

Mmmm. Advertisers and car manufacturers think very hard about every aspect of the images they create. I'd like to hear Audi explain exactly what they were trying to convey with this.

Thought this was a bit of a storm in a teacup until I saw the slogan:

"Lets your heart beat faster - in every aspect"

Erm...what?...

A fast car lets your heart beat faster - ok, advertising waffle but I understand what is being said. What's the 'in every aspect' about? What are the other aspects in which the advert conveys your heart beating faster?

How is that in any way related to a little girl in sunglasses eating a banana?

Honestly, I'm baffled. If the implication is not that the mere sight of a little girl in a dress eating a banana would also make your heart beat faster (pause to vomit), I'm not sure what it is.

Would genuinely love to be offered a different interpretation of this!

Why is a little girl almost draped on the bonnet like an adult would?

She’s leaning against it, not draped in any way.

Why is not in the car in a car seat instead?

The car is parked so she doesn’t need to be sitting it in. But the idea is the the new generations are cool and sitting in the car seat is less cool than leaning against it.

Why is she eating a banana, a fruit that is well known as a fellatio pun?

It’s not in her mouth and I don’t think they put much though into it. An ice lolly would have been a better fit with the sunglasses but they probably thought that would get complaints because it’s not healthy.

Why not an apple?

Why a little girl and not a little boy?

Because people would say that was sexist. Why is it that only boys can like cars or act cool? Why are little boys not at risk of peadophiles?

Why put them all together with the slogan “make your heart beat faster in every way”?

I thinks it’s a crap slogan but it doesn’t make me think they think people’s hearts will beat faster when they look at the girl.

"Lets your heart beat faster - in every aspect"

Devil's Advocate - maybe the advert's target audience is women? Maybe it is trying to tap into their girlhood fantasies? I always desired an atrocious pink car from the 70s as a child.

Personally, I find adverts where young girls are princesses or domestic goddesses equally as, if not more, problematic.