Wednesday, July 28, 2010

KIA "SOUL"



First off, I'm glad to see Black Sheep get paid (if they retained the rights to the tune) but KIA needs to get checked. Naming a car the "Soul" and the campaign is to have hamsters "act" as if they're black, with rap music, basketball and baggy hoodies and other stereotypical trappings. Yup, that's LightWeight Racist. They couldn't seriously think that African Americans would think this ad would make buying the "Soul" a good idea.  Which begs the question "who IS the intended market for this ad?" and better yet are there middle Americans who think animated hamsters and baggy clothes are cool?

If you still don't get it, think about this... based on this ad, what would the Jeep "Cherokee" ad campaign look like? *bang*

2 comments:

  1. this ad is completely wierd, but... a little context on the hamster thing: for those who watched the Wire, i'm pretty certain this is a reference to "hamsterdam", which was an "anything goes" drug selling zone that the chief of police allowed in order to reduce the violence associated with selling drugs, inspired by amsterdam, and which quickly was re-named hamsterdam by the locals in the neighborhood. so I think the ad is inspired by/biting off of that whole deal, but loses context really easily and just ends up as the wierdest commercial ever, and, i agree, lightweight racist.

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  2. I made a youtube video about their racism, i believe the person behind the video thinks that african americans can't afford higher monthly payments for cars so they market the kia soul as affordable $150 a month and yet in the streets i see white people driving the soul and it would make sense if they had real african americans inside the commercial rather than hamsters acting like the african americans.
    here is the video.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc0pv5EOpK4

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