Journal of Case Studies
www.sfcrjcs.org
May 2015, Vol. 33, No. 1, p. 136-140
ISSN 2162-3171
Pipe Dreams
Kathia T. Martinez Acuna, Queens University of Charlotte
Bradley W. Brooks, Queens University of Charlotte
Steven M. Cox, Queens University of Charlotte
Disclaimer: This case was prepared by the authors and is intended to be used as a basis for
class discussion. The views presented here are those of the authors based on their professional
judgment and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Society for Case Research. The names
of individuals and the firm are disguised to preserve anonymity. Copyright © 2015 by the Society
for Case Research and the authors. No part of this work may be reproduced or used in any form
or by any means without the written permission of the Society for Case Research.
“As an advertising creative, I would like to congratulate you on achieving the
visceral reaction we all hope for. I would not like to congratulate you on making
me cry.”
Executives with the Hyundai Motor Company had sought to promote their dream of zero carbon
dioxide (CO2) emissions. They were caught off-guard, however, by consumers’ distressed
reactions to the company’s latest promotional campaign for the automobile that achieved their
objective, the Tucson iX35. The video promotion, which was released in the UK in April 2013,
depicted a man taping a hose from a Hyundai iX35’s exhaust pipe into the cabin of the vehicle to
commit suicide. His suicide attempt, however, failed because the vehicle’s emissions were
100% water.
The comments above were part of a statement the company had received from a consumer
named Holly. Holly sent her message to Hyundai after seeing the video that left her feeling
empty and sick. She was not alone in expressing such negative emotions.
Hyundai executives now had to determine how to respond.
Hyundai Motor Corporation
Hyundai (rhymes with “Sunday”) had exported its first independently-made vehicle, the Pony, in
1976. By the end of 2012, the Hyundai Motor Company, manufacturer of Hyundai and Kia
brand vehicles, was ranked as the world’s fifth largest automaker. In 2012, the Korean company
had earned consolidated net profits of $8.4 billion (9.05 trillion Korean won) – a 12% increase
over 2011 (France-Presse, 2013).
Hyundai’s success could be attributed in part to its reputation for improving its vehicle quality,
but also in part to its reputation for being a good corporate citizen. The automaker had made
significant investments into corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities around the world.
Hyundai had created programs such as“Hope on Wheels” that raised money to help children with
cancer; “Being a good neighbor,” a program that helped build strong neighbors with community
partners; and “Bright Ideas,” which helped US students with scholarships, internships and
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professional development resources and educational summits to become successful citizens and
professionals (Hyundai Corporate Social Responsibility, 2014).
Hyundai’s investment into the development of eco-friendly models was demonstrated through
The Blue Drive Strategy. The strategy focused on improving the fuel economy of mass
production models while serving as another step towards Hyundai’s dream of zero CO2
emissions (Hyundai Worldwide Innovation, 2014).
These innovations were occurring as Hyundai was attempting to enhance both the Hyundai and
the Kia brand images. Korean cars had long been perceived as being cheap, poorly designed,
and poorly built. Hyundai had been attempting to improve its quality image with the
introduction of its luxury-based (and $60,000-priced) Hyundai Equus, which had sold
approximately 2,000 units in 2012 (Lopez, 2013). Additionally, Kia had future plans for
releasing its K900 brand to compete directly with Mercedes and BMW sedans. The K900 was
intended to be priced at over $70,000 (Lopez, 2013).
In addition to conveying higher quality, Hyundai’s promotional approach had also prioritized its
desire to connect with consumers through emotions. One recent promotion, for example, had
shown a small boy antagonized by a group of bullies who excluded him from playing football.
With help from his mom and the family’s Hyundai Santa Fe, the boy put together his own
football team to confront the bullies. The promotion was directly attributed to large spikes in
consumer interest in the vehicle (Mercuro, 2013; Valdes-Dapena, 2013).
Innocean Advertising Agency
Those emotions, however, seemed at risk after customers viewed Hyundai’s latest ad (which was
dubbed “Pipe Job”). The ad had been created by its advertising and communication company,
Innocean. Innocean’s core vision was to become an ocean of innovation and its goal was to
promote a customer-driven culture by providing the best quality and service. On its website,
Innocean, also a Korean company, proclaimed that it sought to inspire global citizenship by
actively understanding nations and their ethnic qualities (Innocean, 2011).
Hyundai stated that Innocean had released the ad without its consent. The two companies,
however, were now working together and both expressed regret and responsibility for creating an
ad that appeared to make light of suicide (Herper, 2013).
Suicide: Public Health Concern
Suicide, which customers associated with the main message of the ad, had been a particularly
distressing public health concern in the UK and elsewhere. In 2011, for example, there were
over 6,000 suicides in the UK – approximately 11.1 per 100,000 in population (BBC, 2013). By
contrast, approximately 1900 people died from motor vehicle accidents in the UK in 2011 (The
Guardian, 2012). Similarly, in the US, over 39,000 suicides had occurred in 2011 –
approximately 12.3 per 100,000 in population (AFSP, 2014) – and approximately 32,000 people
had died in motor vehicle accidents (Huffington Post, 2012). Page 137 Journal of Case Studies
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Mass media could significantly affect suicide rates. Dr. John Grohol, founder and CEO of Psych
Central, explained that news reports or other depictions of suicide in the media can increase
suicide attempts. This relationship is referred to as suicide contagion (Grohol, 2013). Reactions to Hyundai Promotion Negative reactions from the ad began appearing quickly on social media and websites. Public
comments referred to the insensitivity of the creators; the dark humor towards clinical depression
implemented in the video; and the negative impact-outcome that it caused in its viewers. One
website quickly dubbed the ad as the “Worst Car Ad in History” and the “Most Tasteless Car Ad
of All Time” (Okulski, 2013).
Holly’s letter represented one of the many passionate responses (Brockwell, 2013):
“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
mom sitting me down to explain that daddy had gone to sleep and would not be waking
up. 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.”
Her letter ended as follows:
“My dad never drove a Hyundai. Thanks to you, neither will I.”
Other consumers expressed similar outrage. Bob, another angry viewer posted (LeDrew, 2013):
“I, too, am a survivor of suicide in my family. And I can’t tell you how angry and upset I
am that someone would not only conceive of this ad, but go through all the necessary
steps to COMPLETE it.
I’m not going to go through all the reasons why this is so offensive and hurtful. You’re
all smart enough to know why already. So some advice: whatever your work is within the
world of communications and PR and social media, ask yourself a question:
Is what I’m doing or saying decent?
If the answer’s no, STOP.”
Dr. Grohol further described this video as thoughtless and mean-spirited. He, too, shared a story
of his best friend who had committed suicide (Grohol, 2013).
With increasing numbers of consumers expressing outrage, Hyundai executives faced a critical
decision. If you were a Hyundai executive what would you do now?
References
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