VW's U.S. Boss Takes Responsibility for 'Voltswagen' Prank
April 01 2021 - 5:08PM
Dow Jones News
By Ben Foldy
The chief executive of Volkswagen AG's U.S. subsidiary said
Thursday he took personal responsibility for an early April Fool's
Day prank this week in which the company sent out a news release
saying it was changing its U.S. name to "Voltswagen."
"Never in our wildest dreams did we imagine it taking hold,"
said Scott Keogh, CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, in an
interview with The Wall Street Journal. "If there's any trust or
credibility to be rebuilt from me, I'm going to do it."
The German auto maker later admitted that the name change was a
joke and a marketing stunt, but that was only after many news
organizations reported it as a legitimate development and social
media lit up with commentary about the move.
The gag-gone-wrong started Monday when VW communications in the
U.S. published a draft of the release on the company's website and
quickly took it down.
The release, initially picked up by several news outlets, said
the company would rebrand itself "Voltswagen of America" to promote
its electric-car strategy. The fake news release also quoted Mr.
Keogh as saying: "We might be changing out our K for a T, but what
we aren't changing is this brand's commitment to making
best-in-class vehicles for drivers and people everywhere."
The next day, Volkswagen's U.S. unit published the release in
full on its website, a move that suggested the name change was in
fact real and would take effect in May. The company's stock rose
4.7% on the Frankfurt stock exchange that day.
It was only later that day that a Volkswagen spokesman in
Germany confirmed to The Wall Street Journal that the name change
was an early April Fool's Day stunt, meant to get people talking
about the company's first all-electric sport-utility vehicle, the
ID. 4.
"We didn't mean to mislead anyone," the spokesman said at the
time.
Mr. Keogh said Thursday the stunt was in some ways a success in
drawing attention to the brand's commitment to electric vehicles
and the intent wasn't to deceive the public. He said the company
thought it would be obvious to everyone that it was a joke, but
bungled the execution.
"It was a gag with humor, whether you like it or not," he added.
"The upside is, obviously, the social response has been the biggest
numbers we've ever seen."
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 01, 2021 17:53 ET (21:53 GMT)
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