Talk about an unfortunate ad insertion. Volkswagen of India's recent newspaper buy, including the Times of India, featured a small vibrating device and asked readers if they could "Feel the shiver of excitement?" The reaction was pretty negative, and folks flocked to Twitter to make lewd jokes and risqué comments. How a gadget that emits vibrations as it vibrates could be mistaken for a vibrator is beyond me, but the local press reports that VW's official India Twitter feed turned the episode into a full-on social-media #fail by tweeting, "Women would be dumb to call it a vibrator. Or maybe they do not understand real driving experience #PunIntended #Volkswagen #Creative." Disrespecting women in India—that's a new one, right? (And please, don't wear out the hashtags.) The tweet vanished, there's been no apology, and headlines abound that the automaker generated "negative buzz" and "bad vibrations" with it's "low-wattage" mentality. It's just the latest wacky ad-related jolt for the subcontinent, still shaken from controversies over a Hitler clothing boutique and—I'm going to hell just for typing these words—vaginal tightening cream.
 |  |