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Kia Sportage Ad Sparks Pedophilia Controversy
A new Kia ad is raising eyebrows—with some even saying that it promotes pedophilia.
The ad, which promotes a dual-zone climate control feature in one of Kia's cars, took home the Silver Press Lion at the prestigious Cannes Lion Awards. But it is controversial, to say the least.
The ad features a teacher lusting after his elementary school-aged student. On one side of the page, she appears as a young girl. On the other side, though, she becomes a scantily clad, buxom teen, seemingly as a product of the teacher's imagination.
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Kia Says It Had No Role In Producing Sexy Cartoons
Kia on Friday called the ads "offensive," and said they had no relationship with Moma, the Sao Paulo advertising agency that created the spots.
The ads were purportedly for Kia's dual-zone air conditioning, and read "A different temperature on each side."
They won a 2011 Cannes Lions awards.
"The ad is undoubtedly inappropriate, and on behalf of Kia Motors we apologize to those who have been offended by it," Kia said in a statement on its Facebook page.
"We can guarantee this advertisement has never and will never be used in any form in the United States," they said.
Kia Denies Knowledge of Pedophile Ads That Won Cannes Prize
Kia (KIMTF) has denied it has anything to do with a pedophilia-themed campaign that won a Silver Lion at the Cannes advertising festival, calling into question the integrity of the agency that created the ad — Moma Propaganda in Sao Paulo, Brazil — and the competition itself.
The rules of the Cannes festival are clear: Ads must have been made for clients and run as part of normal campaigns paid for by client media budgets. This is a the second recent occasion in which a Brazilian ad agency has been caught entering an ad at Cannes that was not fully approved by a client. In 2009, DDB Brasil entered an ad for the World Wildlife Fund that depicted a Sept. 11-style attack on New York that was nixed by a client before the festival began.
Kia, in a message posted in the comments section of the BNET item reporting on the campaign, says it has “no business relationship” with Moma and did not approve the ad.
Originally posted by MikeBoss
reply to post by FortAnthem
More like xenophobic protectionism. Trying to get more American customer switching from foreign to local car brands.
Originally posted by fixer1967
I would not go as far as to call it a pedophile ad but it does go a bit too far. It may have been OK a few years ago but today this just will not do.
Originally posted by AngryOne
Argh, what were these freaks thinking?
Originally posted by FortAnthem
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Originally posted by FortAnthem
...In the process, they created a major PR disaster for KIA which may cost them customers in the future.