 |
| Hyundai Motor suicide advertisement |
(Scroll down for video) A South Korean auto manufacturer came under extreme criticism after they released an advertisement showing a man attempting to commit suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning inside his car garage, according to a video uploaded to the internet.
Hyundai Motor, has been forced to apologize for the advertisement that sought to promote its zero carbon emissions car by showing a man connecting a hose to the exhaust.
The advertisement scandal is the latest to hit the automaker, the fifth largest in sales when combined with Kia Motors, after it was caught exaggerating the fuel efficiency figures in the United States.
The South Korean company rushed to limit the damage of the advertisement, which was pulled.
It was made by the European unit of Innocean Worldwide Corp, an advertising company that is 40 percent owned by Chung Sung-yi, a daughter of the Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo.
Innocean and Hyundai Motor said it "deeply and sincerely apologizes for any offense or distress that the publication of the viral movie aimed at a European and a U.S. audience, may have caused.”
The advertisement showed the hydrogen powered Hyundai ix35 driven by a middle-aged man attempting suicide. The man sat in his car with a hosepipe connected to the exhaust with a tube inside the car.
“He could not kill himself because the car was releasing water based emissions,” according to the advertisement.
“The advertisement is definitely gross and should not have been produced or released by a prestigious company such as Hyundai Motor. What were they thinking?” Sharon Fears, 22, of Phoenix, Arizona told YourJewishNews.com after watching the advertisement.
Hyundai is not the only automaker that has struggled with their ads. Last month, U.S. automaker, Ford Motor, was criticized for releasing sexist ads in India, prompting an apology from Ford India and dismissal of employees at an Indian advertising group.Mobile video not loading? Click here to view