• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, May 7, 2012

Y&R Buenos Aires, part of the WPP global ad agency network, has created a controversial and highly politicized Olympic ad that has enraged the shop’s parents in New York and London. WPP CEO Martin Sorrell was quoted by British press as saying the company will investigate the matter.

Sorrell was quoted by both the Guardian and Daily Telegraph as being “appalled and embarrassed” by the ad, which was filmed on the Falklands Islands, which Argentina and the UK fought a war over 30 years ago. The UK retained possession of them. 

Sorrell told the Guardian that the company is conducting an investigation as to how the ad was made -- it was reportedly filmed secretly on the Falklands -- -and will then decide what action to take, if any, against those responsible.

The ad features Argentine field hockey player Fernando Zylberberg training in the Falklands. He is shown frowning at a British flag and running past British landmarks such as an English pub and a red telephone booth and then running up the steps of a memorial dedicated to those who died fighting the war. The ad concludes with the tagline: “to compete on British soil, we train on Argentine soil.”

Y&R New York issued a statement apologizing for the ad, calling it “unacceptable” and “offensive to the Olympic spirit.” The agency also said it requested that the Argentine government pull the spot from the air. “While we don’t believe it was the intention of the ad’s creators to desecrate a war memorial, they behaved in a manner that is unacceptable to our company,” Y&R New York stated. “Furthermore it is against our policy to be involved in anything that is politically motivated."

Martin Mercado, creative managing director of Y&R Buenos Aires, issued an apology of sorts, while defending the ad as messaging that was only intended for airing with Argentina. The country continues to assert that it is the true sovereign of the Falklands. “While there is no doubt that the Argentine government views Las Malvinas as part of Argentina, I accept it was a mistake to use the war memorial in the advertisement and I apologize unreservedly for that error,” Mercado stated.

It was not clear at deadline whether the Argentine government, which commissioned the ad, would comply with the request to pull it. The ad ran in soccer games on Sunday according to reports. The British Foreign office has also condemned the ad as a political “stunt.”