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Article: Toyota calls racial image ad mistake.
- Article from:
- United Press International
- Article date:
- May 23, 2001
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 United Press International. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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TORRANCE, Calif., May 23, 2001
Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc., has pulled an ad showing an exaggerated black person's lips and mouth with a gleaming white upper front tooth emblazoned with a miniature gold station wagon.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson called the ad "insulting and racist" and accused the U.S. unit of Japan's Toyota Corp. of racially insensitive advertising, but the automaker said the so-called "tooth art" was selected for the campaign "because it combined a warm smile with a leading-edge fashion statement."
Toyota said Saatchi & Saatchi, its ad agency, had no intention to insult or offend anyone with negative or stereotypical imagery of ...