Google removes Toyota ad from YouTube video of Camry crash
Google said it has removed a Toyota advertisement sponsoring a horrific YouTube video of an elderly Florida women losing control of her Camry and blowing through shoppers at a Publix supermarket, injuring 10 people.
Through a quirk of Internet advertising that automatically links ads for companies to content about their products, a Toyota banner at the bottom of the video pitched the company and its Prius c hybrid.
Crystal Dahlen, a Google spokeswoman, said the YouTube owner removed the advertisement after learning of the situation earlier today. There is no longer any advertising on the video.
The accident took place earlier this week and the video was posted on multiple news websites after it was released by the Florida Highway Patrol.
Two years ago, Toyota was linked to widespread complaints about unintended acceleration in its vehicles. It recalled millions of vehicles and briefly halted production of the Camry and other models to fix problems with floor mats that could jam accelerator pedals, as well as a defect that had caused sticky gas pedals.
But the company maintained that many of the incidents were actually a result of what is suspected to be the cause of the accident in the video – people mistaking the gas pedal for a vehicle’s brakes.
Although Google removed the Toyota ad associated with this crash video, other Toyota advertisements continue to pop up with YouTube videos, including one that criticizes reporting about the automaker’s unintended acceleration incidents by the Wall Street Journal
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