The cartoonish ads were meant to demonstrate the "extra-large" trunk space of the company's Ford Figo.
Ford has apologized for an ad that depicted the Kardashian sisters gagged in the trunk of a car with Paris Hilton smiling and winking from the front seat.
The cartoonish ad -- featuring the tagline "Leave your worries behind with Figo's extra-large boot" -- spurred protests after it was leaked online. It was actually one in a series of ads, with another featuring disgraced former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi driving with three scantily dressed women in the back, and a third showing Formula One driver Michael Schumacher behind the wheel of the car with rivals Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso in the trunk.
The tongue-in-cheek ads are said to have been created by Indian ad agency JWT India and have since been pulled from the website Ads of the World, where they were posted.
Ford and WPP Group, the ad agency's parent group, have issued a formal apology.
"We deeply regret this incident and agree with our agency partners that it should have never happened," Ford told Business Insider. "The posters are contrary to the standards of professionalism and decency within Ford and our agency partners."
Added WPP: "We deeply regret the publishing of posters that were distasteful and contrary to the standards of professionalism and decency within WPP Group. These were never intended for paid publication and should never have been created, let alone uploaded to the Internet."
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