Hyundai apologises for suicide ad for low-emissions car A still from the offensive Hyundai ad. HYUNDAI has apologised for a commercial that shows a man trying to kill himself by piping emissions into his car. The 60-second ad was intended to be used in the UK, and shows the suicide bid failing because the ix35 SUV model used - a fuel-cell model not sold in Australia - does not produce harmful emissions. Hyundai said it did not order or approve the "offensive" ad, and apologised for it appearing, carsguide.com.au reports. "Hyundai Motor deeply and sincerely apologises for the offensive viral ad," the Korean car maker said in a statement. It runs counter to our values as a company and as members of the community. We are very sorry for any offense or distress the video caused. More to the point, Hyundai apologizes to those who have been personally impacted by tragedy. The ad sparked outrage after it went viral. Advertising copywriter Holly Brockwell, whose father committed suicide in the same manner as shown in the ad, posted an open letter to the car maker, which included a picture of her father and a copy of his suicide note. In it she writes: "When your ad started to play, and I saw the beautifully shot scenes of taped-up car windows with exhaust feeding in, I began to shake. I shook so hard that I had to put down my drink before I spilt it. And then I started to cry. I remembered looking out of the window to see the police and ambulance, wondering what was happening. I remember mum sitting me down to explain that daddy had gone to sleep and would not be waking up, and no, he wouldn't be able to take me to my friend's birthday party next week. No, he couldn't come back from heaven just for that day, but he would like to if he could. I remember finding out that he had died holding my sister's soft toy rabbit in his lap. Surprisingly, when I reached the conclusion of your video, where we see that the man has in fact not died thanks to Hyundai's clean emissions, I did not stop crying. I did not suddenly feel that my tears were justified by your amusing message. I just felt empty. And sick. And I wanted my dad. Ms Brockwell pleads with the car maker to think a little harder next time about how to sell the latest car innovations to the public before concluding with "My dad never drove a Hyundai. Thanks to you, neither will I. News Limited has decided not to post a video of the advertisement. For help with emotional difficulties, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or www.lifeline.org.au For help with depression, contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 46 36 or at www.beyondblue.org.au The SANE Helpline is 1800 18 SANE (7263) or at www.sane.org Read more about the ad at carsguide.com.au