Just like any other automaker, Hyundai is trying to get its name out there, and one way that it’s doing that is with commercials and other marketing strategies. The idea behind the best car commercials is to stand out from the other car commercials, but Hyundai may have leaned into that idea too much for one particular commercial. Here’s a look at the Hyundai Veloster commercial that was banned and why that happened.

A lot of time and effort goes into making ads, but many won’t ever air

Practically all automakers have a marketing budget, and much of that budget goes toward making ads. The marketing budget for automakers can be huge, and for the largest auto giants, it’s to the tune of billions of dollars per year. With that much money going toward ads, it’s normal for many ads to simply never see the light of day.

Every now and again, the regulators in charge of regulating what gets put on TV think an ad breaks the rules and thus, can’t air. Why an ad gets banned ultimately depends on the country, but it happens around the world. For example, Australia banned an ad for the Toyota Yaris back in 2021 because it was deemed a danger to society.

The Hyundai Veloster commercial that was banned by the Netherlands

Another great example of banned ads was an ad that Hyundai made over a decade ago for the Veloster, according to Autoevolution. The South Korean company made the ad back in 2011, and it was trying to sell the 2012 version of the car.

The Veloster was unique from its rivals as it had three doors, when most cars have four. There was a door on the driver’s side that only the driver could use, and two doors on the other side for passengers.

This Dutch commercial tried to emphasize the three-door nature of the Veloster. It starts with the classic scenario of a man dropping off his girlfriend. The physical embodiment of Death is also lurking around.

They’re in a Ford Focus, which has four doors, and she’s sitting in the back, driver-side. She decides to exit out of her driver-side door, which put her in the path of oncoming cars. Death claims her life when a truck hits and kills her.

The ad then goes back in time. It’s the same scenario, but the couple are in a Veloster. There’s no door on her side of the car, so she gets out of the curb-side door. She is safe and sound, but Death isn’t as a truck hits and kills him instead. Ultimately, the ad was banned by Dutch regulators because it was too shocking.

It’s good when companies try to be more creative with their ads

It’s not too surprising that the ad was banned. Even though it wasn’t graphic or bloody, the ad ultimately did show a woman getting hit and killed by a truck. The ad tries to be funny by having the truck kill Death as well, but the reality is that trucks are killing a lot of people in the real world. Most of the time they’re accidents, but that kind of incredible violence isn’t funny for most folks.

Regardless, humor is subjective. While Dutch regulators and a lot of people don’t find the idea of trucks killing people to be funny, some people do think that can be funny. Either way, it’s nice that the marketing team behind the ad was allowed to push boundaries and be creative.

Most car ads are very boring since they’re so similar to one another. There’s definitely creativity in the banned ad, and that’s just interesting to see.