VW pulls car ad after outcry, apologizes for racist overtone

BERLIN (AP) - Germany's Volkswagen has pulled a social media ad for a new car and apologized after an outcry over its racist overtones.

The ten-second spot posted on Instagram and Twitter shows a massive white hand pushing a black man away from beside a new yellow Volkswagen Golf parked on the street, then moving him to an open doorway and flicking him inside a French cafe.

Commentators on social media also noted that as the German-language slogan 'œDer Neue Golf'ť - 'œThe New Golf'ť - fades into view, the jumble of letters can be read as a racial slur for a brief moment.

And the cafe's name is Petit Colon, which in French literally means the 'œLittle Colonist.'ť

Volkswagen told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the video had been pulled and that 'œwe can understand the outrage and anger.'ť

'œWithout question: the video is inappropriate and tasteless,'ť Volkswagen wrote. 'œWe will clarify how something like this could happen, and there will be consequences.'ť

The Wolfsburg-based automaker, founded under the Nazis to produce 'œthe people's car,'ť said that given its history it has always sought to 'œposition itself against all forms of racism, xenophobia and discrimination.'ť

'œMany initiatives in the company and in our global workforce promote diversity, integration and unprejudiced cooperation,'ť Volkswagen said. 'œThat makes it all the more annoying that we made this mistake.'ť