Hyundai’s Offensive “Pipe Job” Commercial Was Pulled, Still Worst Ad of the Year—Maybe Ever [The Ad Section]

Last week, this British Hyundai commercial about a man who attempts suicide in his hydrogen-powered ix35 was published to YouTube and subsequently went viral. Technically, it's very well done. The casting, art direction, camerawork, and music track are skillfully executed, and it follows a clear strategy: The man doesn't die because the exhaust pipe emits only water vapor. Yet "Pipe Job" is easily the worst commercial of the year—or perhaps any year. The words "disturbing" and "insensitive" barely begin to describe the spot, which establishes a new low point for responsible advertising. Not surprisingly, it was widely condemned—particularly by those who have been impacted by the suicide of a loved one—and was taken down after just one day by the ad agency that created and posted it. (We've embedded a copy from another YouTube account; if that version disappears, simply search for "Pipe Job" and "Hyundai" on YouTube or Google.) Immediately, all concerned started pointing fingers. The British newspaper The Telegraph quoted a Hyundai spokesperson as saying, "Hyundai Motor U.K. had no involvement with this film and Hyundai Motor Company did not request the film to be made, nor was it asked to approve it." In other words, blame the agency. For its part, according to the same Telegraph article, the European arm of ad agency Innocean Worldwide—a subsidiary of the global Hyundai conglomerate—claimed it was simply research, explaining that it posted the video "for one day . . . to get consumers' feedback on [a] creative idea employing hyperbole to dramatize a product advantage without any other commercial purpose." It certainly get feedback (along with huge out-of-pocket expenses for the commercial that Hyundai says it didn't authorize), but I have a much bigger question: How could a commercial like this even get made? In part, I blame the system itself: In a quest to be "different" and "get noticed," clients put agencies under enormous pressure to break the mold. This is particularly true with viral video campaigns, which depend heavily on word of mouth (which these days means forwarded and shared links). This in turn requires being provocative, a challenge that's increasingly difficult given today's real life events and shocking headlines. But the bulk of the blame lies with Innocean: In their pursuit of visibility, the ad's creators chucked clear thinking out the window. On its website, the agency's vision statement explicitly boasts of a commitment to "Discover Beyond," which includes "going beyond the stereotype, the common sense, and the narrow-mindedness . . . beyond the conventional thinking and the limitations." Limitations of what? Good taste and compassion? Innocean might need to rethink its vision statement—but it definitely needs to rethink its vision. Award-winning ad man-cum-auto journalist Don Klein knows a good (or bad) car commercial when he sees one; the Ad Section is his space to tell you what he thinks of the latest spots. from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com

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