Hyundai Suicide Ad: Holly Brockwell Says After Seeing Ad She ‘Began To Shake’

The Korean auto maker Hyundai has pulled an ad after Holly Brockwell, a British advertising copywriter and blogger, wrote an open letter to Hyundai on her blog in which she described her distress upon seeing the ad. The ad, for the ix35 SUV, depicts a man attempting -- and failing -- to kill himself by letting the motor of his car run in a parked garage, the same method by which Brockwell says her father committed suicide. Click here to watch the ad.

The ad, called "Pipe Job", was created by Hyundai's European advertising agency Innocean Europe. In it, a man attaches a hose to the tailpipe of the car, tapes the hose in the window so that it is releasing its fumes into the car's interior, sits in the car and waits with his eyes closed. In the next shot, the entirety of the garage and the house to which it is attached can be seen. A light goes on in the garage and the door is lifted. The sentence, "The new ix35 with 100 percent water emissions" appears.

On her blog, Holly Brockwell posted a picture of her father and an image of his suicide note.

"As an advertising creative, I would like to congratulate you on achieving the visceral reaction we all hope for," she wrote. "[...] 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."

"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."

"My dad never drove a Hyundai. Thanks to you, neither will I," Brockwell concluded.

The ix35 is sold in the United States as the Hyundai Tucson. CNN Money writes that the auto maker plans to produce 1,000 ix35 SUVs powered by hydrogen fuel cells, which combine hydrogen gas with oxygen from the air to produce energy. The only emission is water vapor.

The ad has since been pulled.

"Hyundai Motor deeply and sincerely apologizes for the offensive viral ad," Hyundai said in a statement. "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."