Kardashians consider legal action over Ford ad
The Kardashian sisters are probably better poster girls for capitalism than feminine equality. That isn’t stopping them from considering legal action over an ad that featured them bound and gagged in the back of a Ford Figo. Paris Hilton smiles from the driver’s seat and a slogan reads “Leave your worries behind with the Figo’s extra-large boot”.
The mock-up drawing is one of three that somehow found their way to the Internet from the offices of ad agency JWT India. Another depicts former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in the Figo’s driver’s seat with three attractive women tied up in the boot – an obvious reference to the various sex scandals he encountered while in office.
The third ad shows Formula One driver Michael Schumacher man-napping three male racecar drivers in the same fashion.
Although none of the ads were ever officially used or even released, the Kardashians aren’t taking the situation lightly.
"The 'leave your worries behind' Ford ads are disgusting, vile and offensive to all women," said the family's lawyer. "It is unacceptable that Ford would align itself with an ad agency that would so carelessly release these ads."
He said the Kardashians "do not take this lightly and they are exploring all of their legal options.”
The Kardashians weren’t the first to be offended by the leaked ads. The AP reports:
“The ads caused an uproar online and came just after India passed a new law on violence against women following a fatal gang rape of a student on a bus that prompted mass protests and spotlighted the status of women in India.”
Ford did their best to apologize for the commotion last week: "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."
JWT’s parent company WPP Group also made a strong effort to clear the air: "We deeply regret the publishing of posters that were distasteful and contrary to the standards of professionalism and decency within WPP Group. These posters 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."
In other words, whoever’s found to be associated with the dirty debacle is probably going to be fired. Or possibly bound and gagged in the back of Figo and driven out of town.
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