Reuters reports that JWT India, a subsidiary WPP, has fired employees over a series of ads, including one showing women tied up in the trunk of a Ford driven by ex-Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
One of the ads had Michael Schumacher in the front seat, having Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso tied up in the back. Other ad had Paris Hilton in the front seat and three bound and gagged women resembling the Kardashian sisters in the back.
The ads were uploaded on an industry website.
JWT India said in a statement that “these were never intended for paid publication, were never requested by our Ford client and should never have been created, let alone uploaded to the Internet. These posters were created by individuals within the agency and did not go through the normal review and oversight process.”
“After a thorough internal review, we have taken appropriate disciplinary action with those involved, which included the exit of employees at JWT,” the company said.
Ford India also issued a statement expressing regret over the incident. “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,” WPP said.
Source: Reuters
