Hyundai gives its own ad the chop.

 

Pipe Job by Innocean for Hyundai

"So Larry, What do you think is the best way to get people emotionally invested in our new product? Well Sam, suicide certainly provokes emotion. Why don't we give that a bash? It can't hurt, lets try it out".

This is the type of ignorant and tactless conversations that I can see Innocean (Hyundai's ad agency) having when trying to come up with an ad for the new Hyundai ix35. This new car emits water vapor as opposed to harmful carbon monoxide gas making it a "greener" option for consumers. Now why, pray tell couldn't they have gone with a more "save the trees" instead of a "slit my wrists" sort of a theme? Are they trying to be edgy? Become more popular? Well done Hyundai! You have successfully grabbed the attention of millions of YouTube viewers around the world. Unfortunately most of those viewers are outraged and pledge to never buy a Hyundai- but hey, all publicity is good publicity right?

 Their crude attempt at dark humour starts off with a shot of the front of a very ordinary house in the day time. It switches to a garage scene where a middle aged man, an easily identified father figure, is on his knees. We hear him duct taping something and the camera follows a pipe until it becomes clear that he is about  to attempt suicide by gassing himself in his car. We see the man looking into the camera which is shooting from the position of the pipe, he seems fearful yet resolute in his decision. The camera then switches to the point of view of the man and we see gas starting to come out of the hose attached to the window. We then see a front on shot of the man who is preparing himself for his last moments. He takes a deep breath in, closes his eyes and then opens them, emotion twinkling in his eyes. The camera focuses on the view in front of the windscreen, the last things he will ever see. He closes his eyes, welcoming inevitable death from asphyxiation. And here's the funny part guys....he doesn't die! The next shot shows the same front of house scene at night, the garage lights switch on and the doors open showing the man defeatedly walking out as the steam disappears into the night. Queue Hyundai's tagline which pops up boasting about it's new vehicle's "100% water emissions"

 The point? Hyundai ix35 doesn't emit Carbon monoxide, only water so he can't kill himself. HILARIOUS!

The Korean car giant was forced to pull the ad only a week after it went viral, mostly due to an incredibly powerful blog post by Holly Brockwell, a London based blogger and ad exec. Her blog read in the form of an open letter to our ingenious friends at Innocean and Hyundai. The letter includes describes her experience of her fathers suicide and how the ad effected her. She even includes her fathers suicide letter which drives her point home further.

"As an advertising creative, I would like to congratulate you on achieving the visceral reaction we all hope for. On prompting me to share it on my Twitter page and my blog. I would not like to congratulate you on making me cry for my dad … When your ad started to play, and I saw the beautifully-shot scenes of taped-up car windows with exhaust feeding in, I began to shake. I shook so hard that I had to put down my drink before I spilt it. And then I started to cry. I remembered looking out of the window to see the police and ambulance, wondering what was happening. I remember mum sitting me down to explain that daddy had gone to sleep and would not be waking up, and no, he wouldn't be able to take me to my friend’s birthday party next week. No, he couldn’t come back from heaven just for that day, but he would like to if he could. I remember finding out that he had died holding my sister’s soft toy rabbit in his lap. "

Hyundai responded by pulling the ad, sacking the creators of the ad and giving an apology.

"Hyundai Motor deeply and sincerely apologizes for the offensive viral ad.

The ad was created by an affiliate advertising agency, Innocean Europe, without Hyundai’s request or approval. It runs counter to our values as a company and as members of the community. We are very sorry for any offense or distress the video caused.

More to the point, Hyundai apologizes to those who have been personally impacted by tragedy."

Too little too late perhaps? The actual humour lies in the fact that they were very excited about this ad and the fact that it was named Ad of the Week by The Drum - a well-thought-of U.K marketing magazine. The Guardian even highlighted the ad as one to watch out for. Even FUNNIER is the fact that this is not even an original ad concept, VW, Audi, Citroen and General Motors have also made extremely similar ads that were banned almost immediately after they went public.

I have had a couple of people I know and love kill themselves and it is a hell of a thing to get over. The man in the ad acts incredibly well which makes it so much worse to to watch. I watched the advert over and over and all I could see was Ryk and Dane during their last moments, struggling to come to terms with what they were about to do. This ad makes light of suicide and completely disregards the family and friends of suicide victims, not to mention people contemplating suicide themselves.

Robert Gebbia, the executive director for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention explains has said: "We know from research that graphic depictions of suicide in the media can inadvertently lead to further suicides, a phenomenon known as cantagion. This advertisement was particularly graphic and potentially dangerous." He goes on to say that he hopes that advertisers and companies realise that suicide is a worldwide health problem that claims more than 1 million lives each year which takes an enormous toll on friends, family, co workers and entire communities and it should not be a topic used to sell products.

When I first started thinking about this ad I found it not only disturbing but counter-productive on two levels.
Firstly they have just informed a bunch of depressed people that if they ever want to successfully kill themselves they shouldn't buy a Hyundai. They have also associated Hyundai with depression and suicide attempts which will also turn off potential buyers. By creating this ad they have successfully alienated two groups of buyers- those who are likely to commit suicide and those who aren't. Millions of dollars on advertising wasted.

Or is it? To be fair we all now know about the fuel tech of their new SUV, I am even writing a blog about it. Eventually the hubbub will die down and people will forget why they were offended as they did with the other car ads with the same theme. Everyone will move on to the next issue, but Hyundai will still stick in the back of their minds.

Mission accomplished, but at what moral cost?


If you or someone you know are in a bad place and need someone to talk to, don't hesitate to call Lifeline. Hotline: 0861 322 322