Media outlets in the US are questioning whether a new VW Super Bowl television commercial involving the use of the Jamaican patois is racist.
The advertisement portrays a Caucasian man who insists on speaking to everyone he comes into contact with in the Jamaican accent. This goes viral among his circle of friends and co-workers, and soon everyone in the commercial is speaking in a mock-Jamaican accent.
Among those criticising the VW commercial is the Wall Street Journal's Christopher John Farley who said the accent is a problem because it did not come from Jamaicans.
But Tim Mahoney, VW America's marketing officer, is defending the commercial. He said the company talked to about 100 Jamaicans in the research and none complained about the use of the patois.
The commercial, which up to late Monday night had more than 100,000 hits on Youtube, has also received reactions from Jamaicans and international viewers.
The majority of the Jamaican viewers gave it the thumbs up and expressed the view that it was not racist or offensive.
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