Witness Protection Group Objects to Nissan Ad

A group of citizens demanded Monday that Nissan Motor Corp. pull a television ad that they say makes a mockery of witness protection programs.

“I can’t believe Nissan’s [public relations] people would not have the insight to understand the negative impact of this ad,” Sergio Robleto, chairman of the Witness Protection Foundation, said at 87th Place and Wadsworth Avenue, where a witness to a gang murder was killed. “We have such a desperate need in this country for witnesses. This ad is sadistic humor.”

In the commercial, a man in a witness protection program is given a new Nissan Altima, which attracts too much attention for someone trying to hide his identity.

“We are sympathetic to witness protection, but this ad is about the appeal of the car,” said a Nissan spokeswoman, adding that the auto company had no intention of pulling the commercial.