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Amid the avalanche of press coverage received by Volkswagen’s New Beetle last week, Arnold Communications executives were virtually muzzled.
The client instructed the agency responsible for creating the next generation of New Beetle ads not to grant interviews without the involvement of a VW representative.
The control tactic by the German automaker prompted a deejay on a popular Boston radio station to blast VW executives as “Nazis” for silencing local agency representatives.
KISS 108 deejay Matt Siegel made the slur after hanging up from an on-air chat with VW ad manager Liz Vanzura, the day after the redesigned New Beetle was unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
Several horrified Arnold executives complained to the FM pop rock station, which runs ads for the agency’s Fleet Financial Group, McDonald’s and Nynex clients.
The next morning, Siegel apologized on air and the station has promised to deliver free ad time specifically for...
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