Suicide and suicide attempts are never funny. Nobody told that to Hyundai. Welcome to the most tasteless car ad of all time. UPDATE: Hyundai responds.
The Hyundai ad, produced for the UK by ad agency Innocean, shows a man sitting in his car in his garage. The car is running, and fumes are starting to build.
You'd think this would be an ad for a suicide support group.
Nope.
It's an ad to show off the extremely low emissions of the Hyundai ix35. Classy move. Obviously, a lot of people aren't happy about this, particularly those that have been personally impacted by a suicide in the family.
Hyundai/Innocean: You aren't some sort of edgy comedian. You're trying to sell cars. Showing a man trying to kill himself is probably the worst possible way to do that. Great job.
Here is Hyundai's response to the ad:
We understand that some people may have found the iX35 video offensive. We are very sorry if we have offended anyone. We have taken the video down and have no intention of using it in any of our advertising or marketing.
And a response from Hyundai America, which wasn't involved in the ad at all:
We at Hyundai Motor America are shocked and saddened by the depiction of a suicide attempt in an inappropriate European video featuring a Hyundai. Suicide merits thoughtful discussion, not this type of treatment.
(Hat Tip to @joshpetri!)