VW Polo spoof duo hire agency

PR Week UK 28-Jan-05

Lee and Dan, the copywriter and art director facing legal action from Volkswagen over their spoof suicide-bomber Polo ad, have brought in a PR shop to limit the damage.

The pair have called in Harry Cymbler’s Hot Cherry PR. Cymbler is a former head of communications at Tower Records.

The ad shows an Arab terrorist blowing himself up while the car remains unaffected. Volkswagen has said it may sue Lee and Dan for bringing the brand into disrepute.

Cymbler said the film was made for Lee and Dan staff and circulated by accident. Cherry clients include Bore Me, ‘the fastest-growing collection of viral emails’.