Planes, trains and automobiles: VW Polo GP too elitist for Chinese netizens

VW Polo is a vehicle for the elite? I don't think so....and neither do Chinese netizens.

Recently, VW put up some advertisements in Shanghai subway stations that gave the impression that subway commuters should be "aspiring" Polo GP ownership so they can overcome the seemingly working class subway. The reaction of netizens was fierce, and as netizens are apt to do in such situations, one poster came up with their own PS versions of the ads juxtaposing the original VW ads with their own text copy added to Gulfstream Jet adverts.



It would be interesting to see what some of the large number of Polo fans say about these ads. As far as fan clubs go in China, VW seems to have the most, with Polo leading the way. See here for one.

Of course, this is not the first time a car company's ad has been deemed offensive and received some creative PS treatment in China. Toyota in 2004 had a series of extremely offensive ads that stoked the nationalistic fire that is always burning on BBS.

Brands are quickly learning that consumers are not limited to calling in complaints to customer service departments where they will be heard by one person within the organization they may or may not do anything. Consumers now have a voice that can be broadcast to the masses. In fact, calls to customer service can actually be broadcast to the whole world via the 'net as AOL and Comcast discovered recently. See the videos here and here. Do watch these. They are very funny, extremely embarrassing for the companies and have created a national sensation in the US. See MSM articles here and here (free registration req'd).

Such events are becoming the norm in the US, with blogs dedicated to consumers' rights like the Consumerist. I fully expect this trend to continue in China, and perhaps even surpass that of the US. China has all of the components necessary: penetration of mobile phone and digital cameras with video capability, easy to use video sharing sites like SeeHaHa and YoQoo, and increasingly vocal and active consumers (just ask Dell and Taobao).

Mark my words: before the end of this year, at least one consumer somewhere in China will become a national sensation just like Vincent Ferrari did with AOL in the US with a BBS or blog post detailing a complaint or negative experience.

Related articles:

• See all Polo/Gulfstream ads here
• Xinmin article about the situation here.
• Auto163 forum BBS article about incident with 130,000 Page views here
• Shanghai Daily article about the situation here (now dead unless you have subscription)