In "monkey taxi", a man jumps into a cab and is thrown a can of Pepsi Max by the front-seat passenger as it is revealed that the driver is a chimpanzee. The terrified man takes a swig of his drink as the monkey speeds off recklessly through the city.
The ad, made by French agency CLM BBDO, has been criticised by leading conservationalist Dr Jane Goodall and the Captive Animals Protection Society, which is threatening to boycott all Pepsi products if the commercial is not withdrawn.
Craig Redmond, campaigns officer for CAPS, said: "Chimpanzees and other great apes used in commercials often live a miserable life of restriction and violence. They are only used at a young age because they become too difficulat to handle after adolescence, so they are ripped from their family to be trained and made to perform."
According to Pepsi, the chimp was supervised properly throughout filming and the ad was approved by regulators.
UK agency Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO was responsible for the 2003 performing chimps ad for Halfords, which was subsequently pulled after protests at Halfords stores and 126 complaints from viewers.
Last December a coalition of leading animal protection groups called on German sportswear brand Puma to pull a TV commercial that featured a young chimpanzee dressed in a nappy.
Last May, CAPS condemned an ad created by M&C Saatchi for the Portman Group, which used performing chimpanzees to tell young people not to be "drunken monkeys". The ad was pulled before broadcast.
In 2002 the pressure group complained about a spot for Grolsch, which the brewer withdrew.
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