The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2013
Ford India's agency showed bound women gagged in the Figo's trunk
JWT India drew celebrities driving Figos with gagged women in the trunk — 'Leave your worries behind.' The CCO resigned; 10 staff were laid off.
Ford India · JWT India (WPP)
What happened
In March 2013, three Ford Figo print ads appeared online. Each showed a celebrity driving a Figo with bound and gagged women crammed into the oversized trunk: Silvio Berlusconi with three scantily-clad women, Paris Hilton winking with the Kardashian sisters, and Michael Schumacher with rival F1 drivers. The tagline: 'Leave your worries behind with Figo's 80-litre boot.'
The ads were created by JWT India, Ford's creative agency. They were speculative — made to win business at the GoaFest advertising awards, not commissioned by Ford. But JWT India posted them on adsoftheworld.com using a generic approval Ford had given for other poster work. Ford said the ads were 'contrary to the standards of professionalism and decency within Ford and our agency partners.'
WPP, JWT's parent company, apologised. Bobby Pawar, JWT India's chief creative officer and managing partner, resigned. Vijay Simha Vellanki, Blue Hive's creative director, resigned. Approximately 10 additional employees were laid off. The ads were removed from adsoftheworld.com after the site confirmed they lacked proper approval.
Why it happened
- The creative concept normalised violence: showing gagged women in a trunk to sell boot space turns a kidnapping image into a product joke — gender-based violence treated as a visual pun.
- The approval process failed: a generic poster approval was used to publish ads Ford never saw — the agency's internal controls did not protect the client.
- The speculative culture enabled it: ads made for award shows exist outside the approval pipeline — GoaFest submissions are not reviewed like live campaigns.
- The resignation count was the cost: a CCO, a creative director, and 10 employees lost their jobs because nobody said 'bound women in a trunk is not a car ad.'
The lesson
If your car ad shows bound women in the trunk, the trunk space is not the story. Speculative award ads without client approval are a liability — the process failed first.
Sources
- Wikipedia — Ford Figo (advertising controversy section)
- The Guardian — Ford India apologises over 'distasteful' adverts
- New York Times India blog — India's Ad Industry Shaken After Ford Figo Controversy
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