The campaign was created by Ogilvy & Mather and showed a ginger tomcat jumping on to the roof of a Sportka and curiously sticking its head in the sunroof, which then closed.
The cat's head is lopped off and could be seen falling inside the car, while the rest of the body slides lifelessly off the roof of the car, down the windscreen and on to the road.
It topped the monthly Ads that Make News poll, compiled by Propeller Communications and Durrants Media Monitoring, being the most written about advertising in the national newspapers in April.
Part of the coverage included a 500-word piece in The Guardian, written by Mike Walsh, O&M's chief executive of Europe Middle East & Africa, saying that the ad was never meant to be seen and that the company was investigating how it was leaked.
In second place in the survey was Dove's "real women" advertising, which used six models who do not conform to the usual stereotypes. Coverage of the story was boosted by The Sun, which launched a campaign to find stars for the next campaign.
Celebrities had to wait until third place on the list before making an appearance, with former 'EastEnders' star Tamsin Outwaite leading the way for coverage of her move to sign as the face of Avon. Fellow 'EastEnder' Jessie Wallace, who plays Kat Slater on the soap, was in number five position after having an ad for Now magazine banned because it alluded to her drunken behaviour.
In fourth place, Barnardo's Christmas ad campaign made another appearance, with reports that the ads, which showed a baby with a cockroach crawling out of its mouth, had received a record number of complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority.
Martin Loat, director of Propeller Communications, said: "The Ford Sportka viral looks like a rare case where not all publicity is good publicity. Any suggestion of animal cruelty plays badly with the UK public and its media, so Ford needs to be careful. Yet Ford Sportka's appearance at number one in this month's Ads that Make News demonstrates just how incendiary a force ads can be for generating press coverage."
Top 10 Ads that Make News for April 2004
1 Ford Sportka -- cat viral
2 Dove -- real women
3 Avon -- signing Tamsin Outhwaite
4 Barnardo's -- record complaints
5 Now magazine -- Jessie Wallace complains
6 Bacardi -- replacement for Vinnie Jones
7 Boddingtons -- signing Alison King
8 Adidas -- Muhammad Ali
9 3 -- Anna Friel wielding a breadstick
10 Ann Summers -- ride a cock hoarse complaints
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .