Cadillac condemns neo-Nazi ad casting call
Cadillac's casting agency has issued an apology and sacked a member of staff after issuing call seeking "real alt-right thinkers" for a future ad campaign.
Cadillac issues apology for neo-Nazi ad casting call
Over the weekend, the luxury automaker found itself at the centre of a Twitter storm after a notice posted on behalf of the firm from The Cast Station circulated on Twitter and Facebook.
The listing said the company was looking for "alt-right," individuals to feature in a "beautifully artistic spot" that would capture all walks of life in America. "This is not meant to be offensive in any way," read the post, "just a representation of all sides."
The casting call went down like a lead balloon across social, with users calling it "shocking" and "unacceptable." Some questioned the use of the term alt-right – a phrase which in recent months has been used to describe white supremacist movements.
Super horrified that @Cadillac is planning on including neo-nazis in a "feel good" campaign featuring "all walks of life." Unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/e32Vb10RxA
— gina young (@ohginayoung) December 10, 2016
This is a real casting call. @Cadillac, please do legitimize bigotry in the US by giving ACTUAL NAZIS thousands of dollars to be on TV. pic.twitter.com/JPPfmu6Elr
— Minhdzuy Khoristmas (@minhdzuy) December 10, 2016
The American car maker moved quickly to respond to the controversy on Facebook, issuing a statement.
Shortly after the Texas-based agency responsible for the casting call confirmed it had sacked a staffer over the "mistake," and blamed a "third party," for altering the breakdown without the knowledge of its team.
"Cadillac unequivocally did not authorise this notice or anything like it, and we apologise to Cadillac for the ex-employee's actions," it added.
It is not clear whether any of Cadillac's creative agencies were involved in the incident. The notice also called for "real current or retired military people" and a "real taxi driver".
The social media storm comes as big name brands continue to pull advertising spend from self-styled alt right news outlet Breitbart, including BMW, Deutsche Telekom and Kelloggs.