[Elvira]

07/21/2006

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - Japanese carmaker Nissan said Friday it has pulled a raunchy commercial starring "Sex and the City" actress Kim Cattrall from New Zealand television after complaints over its content.

Cattrall, who plays sex-obsessed, promiscuous Samantha Jones in the hugely successful U.S. series, appears in the ad purring with excitement about Nissan's new sedan.

"Why didn't you tell me it was so big, I just wasn't prepared for it?" she gushes. "The all-new Nissan Tiida makes you feel really, really, really good inside."

She tells a salesman: "Ah! That was amazing. Absolutely fabulous! I mean the great body and the way you moved it."

The double entendre-laced ad was approved by New Zealand's Television Commercial Approvals Bureau before broadcast. Nevertheless, it sparked a number of complaints to the Advertising Standards Complaints Board.

Nissan said it was taking the commercial off the air before the board could consider the objections.

"We made this decision in the interest of self-regulation and in response to public feedback," Nissan said in a statement.

New Zealand generally is regarded as liberal when it comes to TV ad content, with no complaints reported about the Australian tourism campaign "Where the bloody hell are you?" which was banned in the UK.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060721/...kxBHNlYwN0bQ--