I’m not a ranting busybody but, I sent this as a ‘Letter to the Editor’ of the Toronto Star – a big newspaper in Canada.
Carmageddon is a video game where players race cars and get bonuses
for hitting pedestrians and other cars. It’s not a game for everyone.
Hyundai, a maker of real cars for the real world, is running a TV
commercial which promotes reckless driving as fun – fun being the very
word they use.
I don’t think dangerous driving is fun. The commercial shows two young
men speeding around an urban street in a circle until they get too
dizzy to keep driving and pull over to switch drivers and “do it
again”.
Who at Hyundai approved this ad? Even without the media coverage of
street racing, the Hyundai commercial promotes unsafe driving in a
street where children are very likely to be playing. Why would Hyundai
run a commercial which makes irresponsible driving seem like fun? How
can Hyundai think reckless driving on public streets is a good thing?
I really think Hyundai should pull those ads and run a different
message to the public. Also, an apology for their careless attitude
towards public safety. Driving on public streets is not a game, it’s a
privilege.
Do they have that commercial in the US too?