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Here's The Hyundai 'Suicide' Ad The Company Doesn't Want You To See

Apr 26, 2013, 00:07 IST

Hyundai / YouTubeHyundai's suicidal man.Hyundai has withdrawn a TV commercial for its ix35 which shows a man failing to kill himself because the car's exhaust emissions are 100% water, and not carbon monoxide. The "joke" is that the ix35 is a fuel cell car, not a gas or diesel car (video below).

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The ad drew protest from Holly Brockwell, a freelance copywriter who used her blog to ask the company to remove the ad. Her blog describes how her father committed suicide in his car:

Surprisingly, when I reached the conclusion of your video, where we see that the man has in fact not died thanks to Hyundai’s clean emissions, I did not stop crying. I did not suddenly feel that my tears were justified by your amusing message. I just felt empty. And sick. And I wanted my dad.

Hyundai tweeted:

"Hyundai understands that the video has caused offence. We apologize unreservedly. The video has been taken down and will not be used in any of our advertising or marketing."

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Hyundai's ad agency is Innocean.

The U-turn came quickly in part due to the skillful way Brockwell posed her dislike of the ad. Her blog post threatened to become a lot more viral than the ad itself, which had been praised by the U.K. ad media.

She said:

This is my dad.

Holly Brockwell

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This is the note he left when he committed suicide in his car:

Holly Brockwell

And this is your new ad.

Hyundai apologized the same day.

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