Audi Apologizes for 'Insensitive' Ad

Audi has apologized for a Twitter ad that has been denounced as unsafe, weird, and possibly suggestive. The ad for the high-performance RS4, which, for now, can still be seen here, features a young girl leaning on the front of the vehicle and eating a banana, BBC reports. Critics pointed out that the girl was leaning on the grille in a position that would have made her difficult to see from the driver's seat. "Nice, that you show how children can easily be killed by your cars. You can't even see them out of the car," one Twitter user said, per CNN.

Other critics called the banana a "phallic symbol" and said the ad, which had the caption "Lets your heart beat faster—in every aspect," was "provocative." Audi apologized for the "insensitive" ad, promised not to use it again, and said it would launch a review. "We hoped we could convey these messages, showing that even for the weakest traffic participants it is possible to relaxingly lean on the RS technology. That was a mistake!" the company tweeted. "Audi never intended to hurt anyone’s feelings." (Volkswagen, which owns Audi, apologized in May for an ad that showed a gigantic white hand pushing a Black man away from a VW Golf.)