Anger Over Viral Prius Ad Spreads Just as Virally

“Anthem,” a recent Prius ad that pokes a bit of fun at Fresno, CA (a city that has had a hard time shaking its reputation as a pass-through tourist stop) has just been pulled, thanks largely to the Digg Effect. After having appeared on AutoBlogGreen less than a week ago, the blog post made it to Digg’s front page in a matter of days and attracted the attention of several discontent Fresnites, then California Senator Dianne Feinstein, and quickly Toyota, who immediately pulled the ad and issued an apology. After admitting to their “serious error in judgment,” Toyota even said they would consider building a plant in Fresno after the city’s Council Member Henry T. Perea said he would be “willing to forgive Toyota if they located a Prius plant here in Fresno.” See what all the fuss is about below.