German car marque Porsche is in damage control after it airbrushed out a famous landmark in a new ad that celebrates 60 years of its iconic 911 model.
The ad, filmed in Portugal, shows both vintage and new 911 models cruising past iconic Portuguese landmarks, one of which is The Christo Rei (Christ the King) statue which sits atop Lisbon’s de Abril Bridge. The statue, completed after WW2, is based on Rio de Janeiro’s own Christ the Redeemer.
The promo also features the new, limited edition, Porsche 911 S/T model which retails for around $660,000 in Australia.
However, as a woman in the ad speeds past the de Abril Bridge in her red 911, eagle-eyed viewers noted that the 75-foot statue in the background had been airbrushed out of the original work.
Lisbon’s de Abril Bridge and The Christo Rei statue
People immediately took to social media to complain about the decision and claimed the famed German carmaker had “shot itself in the foot” and made a “mistake” and bemoaned the company had gone “woke”.
One person tweeted: “That’s horrible. For what reason would it be taken out?”
Another added: “That’s just ridiculous, to remove an iconic statue from a commercial.”
“I drove on that bridge and it’s truly amazing. I’m marking Porsche off my list of future purchases. They should be ashamed!” said another
Following the social backlash, Porsche marketers immediately withdrew the original ad and replaced it with a new version complete with The Christo Rei.
Here’s a still from the original TVC sans The Christo Rei…
And here’s the new ad with Christ’s second coming…
In a statement to media, a Porsche spokesperson called the statue’s removal a “mistake”.
She said: “In a previously-uploaded version of the 911 S/T launch film, a landmark was removed. This was a mistake, and we apologise for any offence caused. The original film is online now.”
You can watch the full version of the ad – complete with statue – below. The bridge scene occurs around the 40-second mark.
