:: adgruntie :: VW doesn't have cojones anymore

+ Volkswagen pulled billboards with the headline "Turbo Cojones" this week. The ads were created by Creative On Demand. They have also created other components (tv spots) targeting the new GTI's at the Hispanic community featuring Speedy Gonzales, which you can view here if you're a superadgrunt (Speedbump, Cats, and Replay).

We wanted something that broke out of the mold and carried the connotation of being strong and gutsy," says Daniel Marrero, creative director for the Miami-based agency, CreativeOndemanD, that came up with the ad. "This is a word adapted in the American vernacular. We never thought it would be an issue."

Spanish speakers found the billboard offensive. Clear Channel wouldn't put it up in Miami. But CBS Outdoor was fine with putting it up.

The billboard went up last Monday in Little Havana. By Wednesday, the barrage of complaints had prompted the billboard company to consult Volkswagen about how to proceed. "Our marketing department said let's go ahead and pull it," said Steve Keyes, a spokesman for Volkswagen's U.S. headquarters at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Meanwhile, the billboard went up in New York and Los Angeles, where there were no immediate complaints. But Thursday, Volkswagen decided those should come down, too, said Keyes. They will be replaced with other billboards that play on Spanglish, or Spanish-English blends: "Here Today. Gone Tamale," says one of them. The other reads: "Kick a Little Gracias."