Saturn describes the ad as how something so small and innocent can result in a rippled effect of misunderstood circumstances: "The new Saturn commercial shows a striking coffee-maker is the trigger for a chain of chaotic circumstances. Director Martin Werner provides with its action-packed short film of just a little more than a minute, exciting entertainment and shows the crucial role to play proper technique. And it offers cinematic scenes and moves simultaneously in a humorous way the technology competence Saturn into focus."
In the video, a sparking coffee-maker is the cause of a fire setting the user's arm ablaze with his initial reaction leading him to swerve, igniting a suspended Jamaica's national flag. In an attempt to eliminate the now blazing flag, it's carried outside and is stomped upon on the sidewalk as an outside surveillance camera and a passer-by captures the images and sets the footage viral. A 'distress signal' is activated and causes complete chaos on the roads and protests against the burning of the flag…all while Barrington Levy hit single 'Murderer' is played on loop.
At the end of the video, the message displayed on the screen in the German tongue says the world needs better technology.
Barrington Levy says although he gave the company permission to use his song, he is outraged at the burning of the Jamaican flag.
"They got permission to use my song… they didn't say what they were going to do with my song but if they did say they were going to use my song to burn my country flag… that would be a total disrespect to my thing and my country and my people… not only burning it but trampling it like that is a total disrespect," explains Levy.
Obviously, Jamaica is getting a boost from this exposure, just like with the recent VW commercial depicting the Jamaican accent, which was shown half-time at the Super Bowl. But couldn't their creativity be shown differently?
In a release on Friday, February 22nd, Olivia Grange, the opposition spokesperson on Culture, urged the Jamaican Government to immediately write to the German Embassy in Jamaica highlighting the situation. Grange noted that while advertisement, which has heavy Jamaican influences, might not have been done with malicious intent, it was unacceptable to have images of Jamaica's national flag, or any other flag, being desecrated.
What are your thoughts? Is it funny or high offensive?
less
more