60% find new Nissan car ad inoffensive

A controversial TV commercial promoting a Japanese-made car in the Middle East should not be viewed as an insult to Arabs, according to the results of an Arabian Business poll.

The advert, which has been airing in Israel, depicts wealthy Arab oil barons cursing and hitting the Tiida, angered at the car being so fuel efficient.

And it has sparked a furore among Arabs in the Gulf states with some suggesting Nissan's cars should be boycotted as a result.

But nearly 60 percent of people who took part in our online poll on Saturday said the TV ad was funny and should not be taken as an insult.

And dozens of people making comments on our website story about the controversy share the view that the advert did not intend to cause offence.

Nissan Motor Company told Arabian Business on Saturday it had no prior knowledge of the advert prior to its showing on TV.

The car giant's Middle East division said it had not approved the TV advert and had taken action to ensure it never runs on the television again.

The TV commercial shows one of the wealthy Arabs pounding his fists on the car just to be held back by his companions as he screams at the vehicle “You destroyed my home! May God destroy your home! Hawks should peck at you day and night”.

The commercial ends with a voice over saying: “It’s clear the oil companies won’t like you.”

And 16 percent of respondents thought the ad was offensive and vowed never to buy a vehicle from Nissan again while another 12 percent said that while the ad portrayed Arabs in a stereotypical way, they were not too bothered about it because it was "just a TV commercial".

A further 13 percent thought it was just a cynical way of Nissan getting more publicity for the launch of their new Tiida range.

Arabian Business has received huge numbers of comments to this story, with most arguing that the advert was funny and shouldn't be taken as an affront to the Arab nation.

Josh M, of Dubai, said: "If more people in this world could laugh at themselves we as a race would be in a much better place. If you get angry at something as small as an advertisement jab at your culture your culture really needs to sit back and re-evaluate what is actually important to it."

And Anonymous Arab posted: "As an Arab I do not see this commercial as offensive in anyway. In fact, it is very humorous and I just had a laugh."