13th President behind Kia execs’ firing?

Kia's television ads have always been on the humorous side, but the Korean automaker's President's Day campaign apparently wasn't all that funny to Kia chairman and group CEO, Byung Mo Ahn. A new reports finds that the ad campaign might have cost two executives their jobs.

The President's Day ad uses relatively unheard of former President Millard Fillmore to promote Kia's unheard of President's Day sales. The ad also mentions that Fillmore was the first President to have a running water bath tub in the White House, and Kia used that fact to distribute soap-on-a-rope in the shape of Fillmore's bust to further promote the campaign.

While the ad campaign is humorous, Ahn felt that it missed the mark because it didn't promote Kia's quality and reliability. Apparently Ahn felt so strongly about the ad that two executives were asked to leave the company as a result.

Just five days after Ahn officially took office of his new position, the two men responsible for the ad — Len Hunt, who was recently promoted to president, and Ian Beavis, vice president of marketing overseeing advertising, product planning and public relations — left the company.

While neither Hunt or Beavis were available for comment, it appears as though Mr. Fillmore caused the men to lose their jobs.

Source: 13th President behind Kia execs’ firing?

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