Greenpeace drops spoof VW advert

A Greenpeace video attacking the environmental record of Volkswagen has been dropped from the internet after a complaint from the creator of Star Wars.

In a spoof on a VW advert which showed a child in a Darth Vader outfit being impressed by a Passat, Greenpeace's "VW: The Dark Side" showed children dressed as other Star Wars characters coming together to fight the German carmaker's climate change emissions.

Lucasfilm Limited complained the ad breached Star Wars copyright and YouTube removed it from its site, where Greenpeace said it had been watched by almost two million people.

VW said it was "surprised" by Greenpeace's attack, revealed in The Independent on Tuesday, pointing out it that has developed clean engines.

Leila Deen from Greenpeace said the group hoped to find new ways to show the film, which she said had been the most-viewed advert on the internet in a 24-hour period.