• WSJ, Friday, November 4, 2005 11:15 AM

It's been a tough week for Nissan Motor Company. While fighting rumors on the West Coast that it is about to abandon Southern California as its U.S. executive and design base for less expensive real estate in Tennessee, the Japanese automaker yesterday elected to modify one of its TV commercials after consumers said the spot was decidedly insensitive. The commercial for its Titan truck line had featured music from the 1957 film "Bridge on the River Kwai." Some viewers found this offensive because the film, a hit at the time, told the story of U.S. prisoners of war forced to construct a bridge for their Japanese captors. Couldn't the Japanese auto giant have found a less provocative piece of music? Yesterday, it did. In place of "Colonel Bogey's March" from "Bridge," the commercial will now feature music from "Stripes," the 1981 Bill Murray comedy. The switch was confirmed by Nissan's agency, Omnicom Group's TBWAChiatDay.

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