LEAVE YOUR WORRIES BEHIND... GET IT?

So apparently The Onion is doing advertising for Ford these days.  Okay, maybe not.  But while this cringe-worthy ad campaign for the Ford Figo hatchback doesn't quite rise to the level of calling an adorable 9-year-old girl a "cunt" on Twitter, it certainly is just begging to be made an example of.

Three print ads of JWTIndia have surfaced onto the interweb and these ads revolve around the ample boot space of the Ford Figo.  To showcase the Figo’s boot space, JWTIndia has used former Italian prime minister Mr Silvio Berlusconi as a prop in an ad that shows a beaming Mr Berlusconi with skimpily clad women bounded and bundled into the Figo's boot. In another ad, American hotel heiress Paris Hilton is depicted in a similar situation with the women of the Kardashian family bundled into the Figo's spacious boot.  The third ad though, shows Michael Schumacher in the driver's seat with other F1 driver's like Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton stuffed into the Figo's boot. The ad campaign is titled "Leave your worries behind."

The visual references to kidnapping would probably be bad enough and weirdly inappropriate for a giant, respectable corporation like Ford.  But using this kind of imagery to target Indian consumers is particularly problematic due to a recent high-profile rape case that sparked a major controversy in India and has resulted in new legislation.

And now the inevitable apologies.  From Ford India:

"We deeply regret this incident and agree with our agency partners that it should have never happened. 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."

And JTW India:

We deeply regret the publishing of posters that were distasteful and contrary to the standards of professionalism and decency within WPP Group.

These were never intended for paid publication and should never have been created, let alone uploaded to the internet. This was the result of individuals acting without proper oversight and appropriate actions have been taken within the agency where they work to deal with the situation.

Of course, it's entirely possible that this apparent fiasco is actually a fiendishly clever ploy to cater to the male population of India on the assumption that the titillation factor, ultimately, will outweigh any backlash.  The images are out there and apologies can't make them magically disappear.  If the special feature of the Figo is its roomy "boot" then, for better or worse, it's been well and truly advertised.