London digital copy writer Holly Brockwell expressed her dismay after seeing Hyundai's video ad for the iX35 crossover SUV, also known as Hyundai Tucson in the U.S. market.
The video ad depicts a hopeless man trying to commit suicide by fuming in carbon monoxide into his SUV. Only that the man's attempt was unsuccessful since the iX35, is hydrogen-fueled and therefore emits nothing but water vapor.
In an open letter addressed to Hyundai and Innocean Europe, an affiliate advertising agency in Europe, Brockwell was moved by the said video that she confessed remembering her father who had committed suicide in the same manner the man in the Hyundai ad has portrayed.
Brockwell clearly cited that she was saddened and not offended by the video as she had to look back on that dreadful day when her father died and the important days that he could have been with her if that didn't happened.
In her statement, Brockwell believed that both companies have been thoughtless in conceptualizing the said advertising piece. She further said that there could have been more creative ways to rouse car clients and to advertise the killer features of Hyundai's iX35 Hydrogen-fueled SUV.
The Hyundai iX35 uses hydrogen fuel cells that bands hydrogen gas with oxygen from the air and transforms it to electricity and water vapor. Hyundai Motors plans to manufacture 1,000 units of the iX35 hydrogen-fueled SUV.
Representatives from Hyundai Motor Europe and Innocean Europe were found unavailable when requested to comment on the matter.
Meanwhile, Hyundai Motors made a press statement apologizing to those who have been personally impacted by the video. Hyundai North America spokesman Chris Hosford denied the company's involvement in the production and releasing of the said video ad citing that it was independently created by Innocean Europe.
Studies have shown that visual depiction of suicide could increase suicide incidents. This phenomenon is called contagion, according to Robert Gebbia, executive director for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. This was further corroborated by the statement of British doctor blogger Ben Goldacre saying, "It has been shown repeatedly that suicide increases in the month after a front page suicide story."
Nevertheless, Hyundai Motors has already taken action to stop the spread of said suicide ad. As Chris Hosford expressed, the company was equally saddened by the inappropriate video ad featuring Hyundai's product and that suicide is a serious matter that should be treated in a more thoughtful manner and not as such.