  Volkswagen of America certainly didn't think so when it
created a one-minute commercial for Sunday's Super Bowl. The
commercial features a tall, white fellow -- identified in the ad
as a Minnesotan, to further emphasize the contrast -- speaking
like a no-worries Jamaican to cheer up his glum office mates.
"You know what dis room needs? A smile," the pasty fellow tells
his colleagues during a dreary meeting. "Who wanna come wit I?"
The conceit is supposed to tie in with Volkswagen's new ad
slogan, "Get in. Get Happy," and the general notion that driving
a VW can turn a crummy day into a sunny day.   "Blackface with
voices," declared Charles Blow, a columnist for The New York
Times, in an appearance on CNN just a few hours after Volkswagen
released the spot Monday. Veteran ad critic Barbara Lippert, on
the "Today" show, branded it "so racist."  But others made fun
of the very idea: "The NERVE of Volkswagen to insinuate with
their commercial that Jamaican people are happy & fun-loving . .
. Boy, that's just