Porsche caused a firestorm of criticism when it edited out the famous Cristo Rei statue which overlooks Lisbon, Portugal out of a video celebrating 60 years of the 911. Towards the beginning of the video, which we’ve shared for your viewing, a woman drives by the 25 de Abril Bridge in the capital city with the famous statue of Jesus Christ in the background erased, leaving only the pedestal visible.
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People immediately noticed the edit and were outraged. Why Porsche felt the need to have the statue, which was inspired by Rio de Janeiro’s famous Christ the Redeemer statue, is unclear at this point. However, the automaker uploaded a new video with the unedited background for the video and issued an apology after the original upload to YouTube sparked outrage in the comments section.
That apology simply reads: “A message to our community: in a previously-uploaded version of the 911 S/T launch film, a landmark was removed. This was a mistake, and we apologise for any offence caused. Your comments on this video were appreciated.”
That’s a rather diplomatic way of dealing with an incredibly sensitive topic. It remains to be seen what long-term consequences Porsche might face for the perceived slight toward not only Christians but also the nation of Portugal since Cristo Rei is a beloved symbol of that nation.
As reported by Daily Mail, some online commentors are calling Porsche “woke” for editing out the statue of Jesus Christ. A boycott has been mentioned, although we question if one will actually congeal in response, especially considering how quickly Porsche responded affirmatively to the criticism, removing the original video and uploading a replacement.
In these contentious times, brands have to be extra careful about hot-button topics like religion and politics. Porsche making a rapid correction in the face of heated criticism might signal how other automakers will respond to similar missteps.
The problem is that Porsche did nothing to explain the mistake and what are the measure it put in place to prevent it repeating.