Will Kiefer Sutherland Continue as the Voice of Ford Canada?

Kiefer Sutherland, star of the television show “24″, began a 48 day sentence in a California prison on December 5th 2007 for Driving Under the Influence (DUI). He was arrested in September when he was still on probation for a separate DUI charge from 2004. He pleaded no contest.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Canada is urging the the Ford Motor Company of Canada to pull Kiefer as the voice-over personality for their television commercials. Andrew Murie, CEO of MADD said Ford Canada should view this as a wake up call.

“Obviously as a company they’re against drunk driving, so why are they continuing to have somebody speak on behalf of their products that now has been convicted… of impaired driving?” Murie said in a statement to CTV.ca

Murie feels that companies such as Ford Canada should employ people representing the company who uphold the moral standards of society.

“Literally, there’s thousands of people out there that meet the moral standards of our society today that would love to have that kind of endorsement contract and they should be honoured for their ethical behaviour,” he said.

In addition to serving some prison time, Kiefer will also serve sixty months probation and pay fines of $510. In accordance with the terms of his plea he must also attend alcohol education classes for 18 months and take a six month weekly alcohol therapy program.

Gina Gehlert, Public Affairs Manager of Ford Canada stated; “Public safety is a top priority at Ford of Canada and we are glad it appears that Kiefer Sutherland will seek treatment, we will continue to monitor the situation closely.”