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Audi pulls 'suggestive' ad showing girl eating a banana in front of car amid outrage: 'We care for children'

Social media users found the ad quite distasteful as they slammed the ad saying that it was sexually suggestive given that both sports cars and bananas have been used as symbols of male lust and desire

Audi has been slammed for its advertisement that featured a young girl eating a banana in front of a car. After facing a lot of backlash from customers and viewers with many calling it 'insensitive' and 'provocative', the company apologized and pulled down the ad, stating it wouldn't use the image ever in the future.

The ad had been made to promote the Audi RS4 with the car company boasting that it has the 'high performance of a sports car and the functionality of a family car', Unilad reveals. A series of pictures on the carmaker's website featured a couple and a young girl playing in and around the car in what seems to be an effort to highlight the fact that it's a family car. 

Click for pic here. 

The advertising campaign has caused massive controversy because among other things the ad features a little girl wearing a summer dress and sunglasses while leaning against the grille of the Audi and eating a banana. Audi had captioned the image, "Lets your heart beat faster – in every aspect." 

Social media users found the ad quite distasteful as they slammed the ad saying that it was sexually suggestive given that both sports cars and bananas have been used in the past as symbols of male lust and desire while women have often been depicted as sex symbols to promote cars. One such user had written, "Car companies have always used sex to sell their cars and targeted their ads very carefully to their market. I’m never letting an Audi driver babysit my kids after seeing this one!"

Another social media user shared, "With a top speed of 174mph this car should be illegal based on how many kids it will likely kill through both speed and contributory pollution. Instead, you want to sell this car USING A CHILD? Probably Audi's lowest moment."

"Took women 2 seconds flat (faster than the acceleration of my A7) to pick up on the disturbing innuendo (female child attired like adult in front of red sports car eating a banana!!). More diversity in your marketing/management leadership. These “mistakes” should NEVER happen," commented yet another. 

Some, however, couldn't find anything wrong with the ad as they shared, "If anyone looked at a little girl eating a banana while leaning against a car as sexually suggestive, that’s YOUR mind at work. You should seek help and stay away from children."

In response to the backlash, Audi responded via its official Twitter handle and said, "We hear you and let’s get this straight: We care for children. The Audi RS 4 is a family car with more than thirty driver assistance systems including an emergency break system. That’s why we showcased it with various family members for the campaign."

"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! Audi never intended to hurt anyone’s feelings," they added. 

"We sincerely apologize for this insensitive image and ensure that it will not be used in future. We will also immediately examine internally, how this campaign has been created and if control mechanisms failed in this case," the carmakers continued. 

The apology seemed to sit well with social media users who praised them for acknowledging their mishap.