'This was a mistake': Porsche apologizes for removing statue of Jesus Christ from 911 anniversary ad
“A message to our community: in a previously-uploaded version of the 911 S/T launch film, a landmark was removed. This was a mistake, and we apologize for any offense caused. Your comments on this video were appreciated.” - CPost
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They should have just said they removed the statue so as to not break the 2nd commandment.
Either way, I'm not buying a 911 anytime soon.... :)
I am so against buying a 911....OK, ignore the fact that I really don't want one, nor could I afford one if I did. And, of course, even if those two conditions were met, you've got the little issue of car carrying ships not making it to the U.S. because the electric cars on board are catching on fire in the salt air. :^)
OK, also on the light side, I could imagine Porsche getting sued because someone bought the vehicle and drove it in Portugal, and HORRORS, saw a statue of Jesus.
OK, seriously, Porsche buyers covet the notion that their vehicle will convey them to places of glorious beauty and significance--so precisely why they would remove an easily recognizable icon of the city in which the commercial was set is beyond me--unless, of course, Porsche hired one of the marketing geniuses behind the Bug Light or Target fiascos. "Let's see how many of our religious and traditionalist customers we can alienate today!"
Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.
I just looked at Porsche saies figures. In 2021, out of ~301,000 total autos delivered, only ~86,000 were to all of Europe. The 911 (all versions) was only sold to ~38,000 worldwide, which although the figures were not broken out that I saw, probably means ~10,000 or so in Europe. And then, unless you are very familiar with local landmarks, that removal in the photo frankly will hardly be noticed. I figure >90% of the people who would buy a 911 in Europe would not have seen the omission or cared.
I suspect it was removed to avoid having their ad looked over by SJWs and lambasted on social media. They probably just considered it the “safe” thing to do, given the current climate, not considering any backlash. And as I said, I suspect most looking at the ad to buy a car rather than to find something to bash over Porsche’s (figurative) head will not have cared. It was stupid of them to have removed it, but IMHO, this isn’t a Bud Light moment, not least because Europeans are not at all like Americans in their thinking or politics.
Dave Barnhart
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