There’s a whole lot of buzz today over an ad for TrueCar.com and it’s not the good kind: The March video spot, just now catching fire on Facebook and Twitter, features a female TrueCar.com customer who is so empowered by the company’s products that she sassily proclaims,”I don’t need to bring a dude with me.”

The social media response has some calling the ad sexist for implying that woman would usually require the assistance of a man to buy a car.

One Twitter user wrote:

“@TRUECar, when I buy my 1st car, I’ll be more likely to ask my aunt, who is a fierce negotiator, than some “dude” for advice.”

And another:

“I think you’re missing the point. Your ad says that a woman NEEDS to bring a man with her. If you don’t find that sexist… yikes”

Over on TrueCar’s Facebook page there’s similar backlash:

“Your commercial makes my blood boil. ‘I don’t need to bring a dude with me.’ Seriously? SERIOUSLY?! How incredibly asinine and sexist,” writes one Facebook user — and there are many others displeased with the company as well.

TrueCar is now responding with official statements as well as replying directly to consumers on various social media sites.

“Regardless of race or gender, being a more informed car buyer benefits consumers,” said TrueCar Founder and CEO Scott Painter in statement to HuffPost. “This particular ad is pro-consumer and pro-women. It was developed by our creative director, who is a woman, and it addresses a real consumer issue in the marketplace.”

On Twitter, TrueCar replied to two users in a series of tweets, writing:

“As you can imagine, we are definitely trying to remedy. Again our apologies. This was not our intention at all. Our mission is to improve the car buying experience for women and men. The ad focussed on women due to a recent survey… The survey found that 77% of women preferred bringing a man to a car dealership when shopping for a car… That stat and others like it is what fueled our spot. Again, our apologies for coming across in the wrong way.”

Here’s the ad in question:

[via Business Insider]

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