Fiat has said sorry for any ooffence caused but is to continue running a TV ad for its new Lancia Delta starring actor Richard Gere which has upset the Chinese.
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Gere, a well known activist in the ‘free Tibet’ movement, is seen in the ad playing with a group of young Buddhist monks in a Himalayan setting with tagline ‘New Lancia Delta – the power to be different’.
The ad is running in Italy and other European countries where the car is launching.
In a statement, Fiat said it had been ‘advised that certain advertising relating to the newly launched Lancia Delta could disturb the sensibility of the people within China’ and stressed that the use of Mr Gere in the ad was ‘based on his long and distinguished career in the arts, and the choice of the subject matter by Mr. Gere is a reflection of our commitment to artistic freedom of expression’.
This choice, Fiat added, should not be understood as an endorsement by Fiat Group of Mr Gere’s social and political views.
Fiat Group ‘reiterates its neutrality in connection with any political matter, be it on a national or international basis’.
The statement ends in an apology: “To the extent that the Lancia Delta advertising may give rise to misinterpretations of its well established position of neutrality, Fiat Group extends its apologies to the Government of the People’s Republic of China and to the Chinese people.”
