Did you hear the story about Volkswagen’s upcoming rebrand in the U.S. as “Voltswagen”? It was a big thing, reportedly to mark their commitment to producing electric vehicles.
For a lot of people, the news brought back memories of IHOP’s teased rebrand as IHOb, the “International House of Burgers.” It just didn’t make a lot of sense that a company that well known and with that much history would suddenly change their name.
Anyway, if you were skeptical about the name change, congratulations on having good intuition and a basic understanding of marketing campaigns:
Volkswagen's name change of U.S. 'Voltswagen' operations was April Fool's marketing prank, source says https://t.co/UcmnIMNaDZ by @MikeWayland @CNBC
— Lora Kolodny (@lorakolodny) March 30, 2021
More from CNBC:
The Wall Street Journal reported the prank earlier Tuesday, citing a Volkswagen spokesman in Wolfsburg.
An unfinished version of the initial press release went out briefly on VW’s U.S. media newsroom website Monday morning before it was taken down. Media outlets, including CNBC, reported it as news after it was confirmed by unnamed sources within the company, who apparently lied to several reporters.
The release said the name change is expected to take effect in May and called the change a “public declaration of the company’s future-forward investment in e-mobility.” It said Voltswagen will be placed as an exterior badge on all EV models, with gas vehicles having the company’s iconic VW emblem only.
Volkswagen apparently lied to several reporters!
Joe Biden has also lied to several reporters. Jen Psaki lies to several reporters every time she’s at the podium.
But it’s a lame April Fools’ Day joke that’s got journalists upset about being “lied to.”
Meet Nathan Bomey, business reporter for USA Today (USA Today’s been on quite a roll lately!). He’s very, very upset about falling for something so dumb being misled:
Dear Volkswagen: You lied to me. You lied to AP, CNBC, Reuters and various trade pubs. This was not a joke. It was deception. In case you hadn’t noticed, we have a misinformation problem in this country. Now you’re part of it. Why should anyone trust you again? https://t.co/1rcKT7p0u5
— Nathan Bomey (@NathanBomey) March 30, 2021
Oh, the humanity!
I'll never trust Volkswagen again, or previously
— I got your #Unity right here (@jtLOL) March 31, 2021
Heh.
I asked my VW source directly: Yes, I see the announcement, but this is a joke, right? No, it’s not a joke, he said. Now they admit it was.
— Nathan Bomey (@NathanBomey) March 30, 2021
I am astonished that a company that — just a few years ago, mind you — paid $30 billion in penalties and pled guilty to criminal charges for **deceiving its customers and regulators to pollute the earth** now thinks it’s funny to lie to reporters.
— Nathan Bomey (@NathanBomey) March 30, 2021
Well, to be fair, Nathan Bomey’s reaction is actually pretty damn funny. Maybe Volkswagen was onto something.
credibility is hard to earn and easy to destroy for both reporters and PR professionals. For what it’s worth, I am sharing your tweets and other similar tweets inside our firm to strongly caution against things like this.
— Brent Snavely (@BrentSnavely) March 31, 2021
Guys. Come on.
Is it a joke if nobody laughs?
How ‘bout if they didn’t even know enough to release it April1? Looks more like incompetence to me.— Mark Phelan (@mark_phelan) March 30, 2021
Looks like incompetence to us, too. On the part of journalists, at least.
https://twitter.com/PartymanRandy/status/1377244466906554376
Nobody undermines journalists’ credibility quite like journalists themselves.
"I'm serious." – every April Fools Day prankster ever https://t.co/gplilxluW3 pic.twitter.com/rNXyaK9E6P
— Eric Spencer (@JustEric) March 31, 2021
Wait…you bought this?? That’s on you, man.
— Blaknsam (@Blaknsam) March 31, 2021
This has to also be an April Fools joke right? Nobody is this entitled right? https://t.co/XkK7a5fUZa
— HouseRepEEE (D) (@EEElverhoy) March 31, 2021
Did these guys get punked by International House of Burgers too? https://t.co/EPtxJYcZTZ
— Sarah (@sarah_wxtx) March 31, 2021
dude are you crying
— Rodger (Formerly Young) (@OpticsCheka) March 30, 2021
Your feelings got hurt pic.twitter.com/ru5CW71wbc
— The Bacon GuRoux ن ?⚡️ (@BaconGuRoux) March 30, 2021
you're a business reporter who couldn't do the 2 seconds of research to see that they didnt even bother filing a trademark for this?
— Jordan (@jmb22392) March 31, 2021
Right it’s like VW is kinda teaching them a lesson to not just trust whatever someone says and report it as fact
— ok ok (@NotoriousNFM) March 31, 2021
That’s the perfect way to look at it.
Media lecturing about misinformation is peak 2021. https://t.co/vqnSAbnKiM
— Amy Curtis (@RantyAmyCurtis) March 31, 2021
They can’t help themselves. They literally cannot.
What if the real joke is all the Nathan Bomeys we met along the way? https://t.co/nF2aDEke9E
— Eric Spencer (@JustEric) March 31, 2021
***
Update:
It’s worth noting that there’s a legitimate beef to be had by journalists — and people in general — with Volkswagen over the “Voltswagen” stuff:
We know, 66 is an unusual age to change your name, but we’ve always been young at heart. Introducing Voltswagen. Similar to Volkswagen, but with a renewed focus on electric driving. Starting with our all-new, all-electric SUV the ID.4 – available today. #Voltswagen #ID4 pic.twitter.com/pKQKlZDCQ7
— Volkswagen (@VW) March 30, 2021
66? Really?
time out. 66? VW out here trying to make everyone believe its name dates back to 1955 and not, ahem, a rather notable period of time before then? https://t.co/NjKsQTZ2Yx
— tsar becket adams (@BecketAdams) March 31, 2021
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