Volkswagen "Luv Bug" Commercial

I tutor my nine year old grand niece every school day. She loves the Disney channel so I let her watch what she wants on any of the 6 or so Disney channels at my house when the lessons are over. When her mom picked her up she wanted to know the connection between a rocking car and babies. My niece looked at me and wanted an explanation herself. When my great niece explained to me that she just saw it on TV it was a little unsettling to both of us. I backed up the channel since it was still on and saw the commercial. We sent the little one out in the yard and watched the commercial. We both thought it was cute but somewhat inappropriate for an afternoon childrenā€™s show. My niece commented that it was going to be a long ride home. I contacted Time Warner and the Disney channel but havenā€™t heard back from them yet. What do you think? Harmless or a problem?
Here is a link to ā€œLuv Bug.ā€

Agree with you. NOT appropriate commercial for childrenā€™s shows.

Iā€™m really not a prude, but I have to say that I was somewhat shocked when I saw that commercial a couple of days ago. I would go beyond saying that this commercial is not appropriate for a childrenā€™s program, and IMHO, it is inappropriate for airing during the hours when young children might be watching TV.

Just as some TV shows with ā€œadult contentā€ donā€™t air until 10:00 PM, I think that this commercial should only be aired after 10:00 PM.

I believe I saw that commercial. I wasnā€™t shocked by what I saw. Was it appropriate? No!

But neither are many/most TV shows and movies that are pumped into our society constantly. I get 7 over-the-air channels, never had cable, satellite, etcetera. We didnā€™t let our kids grow up watching most crap on TV. I stopped going to movies years, ago. Itā€™s garbage.

I really believe that this constant barrage of violence on TV and the kids that sit and watch this stuff from a young age, and the parents allowing this, are contributing to violence in our society.

The folks putting this stuff out there are not going to ā€œpoliceā€ themselves. I canā€™t turn on my TV in the evening (fairly early) without having to flip through gore and violence (Medical and crime shows), until I can find something to watch.

Thanks, I feel better, now. :slight_smile:
CSA

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That is why I donā€™t have a TV in my house. @common_sense_answer

In the interest of being helpful, maybe your niece said that the cars were rocking because the parents were cheering inside over the addition(s) to their family.
That would fit the ending where the family is cheering together inside the rocking car.

And no, I donā€™t think it was right for a kid show.

Eh, I donā€™t really see it as a huge issue. Itā€™s not really in your face, itā€™s the kind of innuendo thatā€™s in lots of things that kids watch. Itā€™s the kind of thing I would have watched as a kid and just not understood. Yeah, maybe itā€™s not the best idea for it to be on a kids channel, but kids see worse than this all the time. I feel like this commercial is pretty harmless. You also canā€™t really protect your kids from knowing about sex forever. Itā€™s the biggest driving force for humans to procreate, and while it should be age appropriate, thereā€™s nothing wrong with having a discussion with your child instead of keeping it a secret. Also, that article is laughable. Going on about how the family is irresponsible for upgrading the car every time instead of just getting an SUV the first time. Itā€™s a commercial, itā€™s not real life.

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How about watching NASCAR with the grandkids and the ED commercial comes onā€¦

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I found it to be tasteless and gross. People having sex in a car doesnā€™t make me want to buy it. Showing this on a childrenā€™s channel is terrible. Not sure why children would be targeted for buying cars anyway.

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Based on how the commercial ends, it would be pretty easy to say, ā€œDid you see how they were all in the car playing and having fun at the end of the episode? Thatā€™s what they were doing in there the whole time. Itā€™s just a commercial about how they needed a bigger car to play in each time they had more children.ā€

I can recall some jokes from childhood that I just didnā€™t get at the time, but only made sense later when got older. They were subtle enough that only adults could understand, so they werenā€™t inappropriate because they sailed over the heads of children. I think there was an episode of Bosom Buddies where they were filming a commercial or a TV show. There was a joke about how all the food was gone because the band went out to their van, and they were really hungry when they came back. It was a funny joke, but it was subtle enough that kids wouldnā€™t get it. I think this VW commercial falls into that category. Itā€™s pretty easy to resolve this one with a white lie that youā€™ll get busted for when the kid grows up.

I do think itā€™s rather prudish to say, ā€œNow look at what youā€™ve done, Iā€™m actually going to have to talk to my child now and explain things.ā€ There are worse things to worry about than a little discomfort at having to talk to your children. There is limited benefit to trying to shelter a kid who is almost a decade old. The only benefit I can see is that it allows parents to avoid momentary discomfort. Frankly, Iā€™m a lot more concerned about desensitizing children to violence than I am exposing them to a loving married couple doing what loving married couples are supposed to do.

It would be smart not to air this commercial during childrenā€™s television shows, but I donā€™t think any harm was done. The kids will be fine.

EDIT: @missileman, something just occurred to me. Your niece might not realize or appreciate it (I probably wouldnā€™t), but VW just did her a favor. They just sent her a message saying, ā€œYou had better take control of the narrative regarding sex education with your children, because if you donā€™t, society will, and you might not like societyā€™s narrative.ā€

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Not a commercial for a kids show, I agree.

The word prudish is not in my dictionary at all but I thought the commercial was too low brow for a childrens channel.
Then again, TV has become pretty much a low brow cesspool all across the spectrum.

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The commercial is vaguely suggestive and it seems like criticism is boiling into a tempest in a teapot unnecessarily.

missileman: I feel your pain. About 3 years ago my 5 year old Grandson was watching late morning cartoons when he was treated to a Viagra commercial! The one where it is explained the drug is for men who have trouble getting and keeping an erection. I was trying to formulate answers to his impending questions when he informed me ā€œThere was a boy who finally got an erector set but a bully took it away from himā€. Whew! Kids need to be allowed to be kids for that far to brief period of time. The innocence and never ending playtime party quickly disappears when they start school. Available commercial airtime on the networks goes to the highest bidder and censorship is a violation of rights especially the ā€œrightsā€ of big business. We are after all ruled by the almighty dollar.

The ad is working! Itā€™s got many people talking about it and paying attention, including us.

Although many think it is a harmless ad, in general, or even harmless for a kids show, the problem is that it wonā€™t stop there.

Other advertisers will take notice that others are taking notice of this ad and the will try and ā€œone upā€ it with a little more suggestive ad, until they become outrageous.

Eventually, it will become a contest to see who has the ad that everyone is talking about while standing around the water cooler. People will go home and try and catch the ad on TV.

I believe that has happened to mainstream TV shows and movies, already. Violence and gore were once suggested (Watch the shower scene from Psycho). Hollywood celebs are having a contest to see how little a dress can leave anything to oneā€™s imagination. Now, one can turn on the TV and watch people take a bullet to the head or medical examiners exploring the burned up body of a corpse. Nearly anything goes.

So, I would expect the commercials to continue to spiral down and influence our society to spiral down with it.

What really cracks me up is that some of the big celebs rail against guns violence in our society, but take home a nice paycheck from making violent movies.
CSA

Iā€™m grateful this is the first commercial Iā€™ve watched in at least six months. I live in a town where I donā€™t even get one channel over an antenna reliably, so I ditched the antenna, I donā€™t subscribe to cable, and the only TV I watch is on DVD or online. Itā€™s been nice removing the spam from my entertainment.

Those who are worried about commercials like this one might consider doing the same.

When I think about the cable TV business model, it makes me a little angry. Here they are charging you for access to the content, and then they spam you on top of that. Iā€™d rather pay for commercial free content and a high speed internet connection. I donā€™t need an expensive DVR to watch TV on my schedule anymore.

@CSA, are you still on dial-up? Is broadband internet still not available where you live? Iā€™m just curious.

Iā€™m still using a modem on a land-line! Using my PC is like riding a mule. You have to prod and kick to get anything to happen. I use the refresh button more than anything else. :slight_smile:

It makes me appreciate things more. I have patience for nearly everything!

Iā€™m not all that shook up about. I have a ā€œsmartā€ phone that I seldom use. All the technology makes me yawn.
CSA

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I thought it was funny, a little cheeky, and couldnā€™t help but wonder "Arenā€™t they getting a bit old for ā€˜automotive rendezvousā€™? Buy a house already!"
I had no problem with the commercial, per se, but I agree it doesnā€™t belong on childrenā€™s programming.

My least favorite commercials are all the pharma ones, the ā€œNag Your Parents Until They Buy This Toy For Youā€ commercials on kidā€™s TV, and those awful, gore-filled anti-smoking PSAs. Especially galling re: the last is knowing that my tax dollars are at useā€“Iā€™m being coerced into paying to gross myself out!

Thatā€™s exactly what I think when I see thoseā€¦ and those stupid abused animals ads. I donā€™t do tobacco or animals so why do I have to watch that crap and pay, too.

Have you seen the hilarious ad where the young woman is ā€œturning intoā€ her father? She even ā€œdope slapsā€ her husband! Clever. I think itā€™s a Progressive ad. :smile:
CSA

That was one of my other thoughts regarding that commercial.
Back in '71, when I bought my Charger, one of my co-workers looked at the back seat area and said something along the lines ofā€¦youā€™re going to try to have sex back there in that cramped space?ā€¦ and my reply was, ā€œNeil, not everyone still lives at home with his parents, as you do. If I have a rendezvous planned, it will be in my apartment, not in my carā€.

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