Ford Motor Co. and WPP Plc unit officially apologized today, Mar. 25, for unauthorized ads that depict former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi with three women tired up in the trunk of a car.
A Ford India spokeswoman said on Monday that the company is planning on investigating the matter to see if anyone within the company ever saw the printed ads, which were not released commercially but somehow made their way to the internet this weekend.
"We deeply regret this incident," Ford's India unit said in an e-mail according to the Associated Press. "The posters are contrary to the standards of professionalism and decency within Ford and our agency partners. Together with our partners, we are reviewing approval and oversight processes to help ensure nothing like this ever happens again."
Click here to view two of the advertisements on BuisnessInsider.com.
One ad depicts three women bound and gagged in the trunk of an Indian-made Ford Figo, with Berlusconi seen in the driver's seat. Another ad shows reality TV star Paris Hilton "kidnapping" her rivals, the Kardashian sisters. The three women are seen in the back of a Figo tied up as well.
A third ad has also made its way to the internet showing Formula One driver Michael Schumacher driving a Figo with racing competitors in the trunk of the vehicle.
All the ads feature the same headline: "Leave your worries behind." For Ford, their worries are just beginning.
"We deeply regret the publishing of posters that were distasteful and contrary to the standards of professionalism and decency within WPP Group," read a company press statement.
The images were reportedly "scam ads" designed not to sell products and services, but to win awards at awards shows such as the Abby or at Cannes" according to FirstPost.Buisness.
The ads have caused an uproar on the internet and were released just shortly after India passed a new law on violence against women after a brutal gang rape of a student on a bus that caused a mass protest in India according to the Associated Press.
Ford did not approve of the ads, JWT India was just "publishing some speculative renderings to show off it's creative chops" according to a report by BusinessInsider.
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