What has General Motors been doing in the wake of its bailout-assisted turnaround? For one thing, trying to convince young American men that hot women will laugh at them if they ride a bike.

Check out this new print ad that the automaker has been running, to promote its college discount. A man on a bike hides his face in embarrassment as an attractive woman rides by in the passenger seat of a car, smiling at his pathetic-ness, apparently. The message isn't subtle: Riding a bike is hazardous to your sex life.

The ad provoked a storm of criticism on Twitter. "As a college student and an avid cyclist . . . . I'm proud to ride a bike, and so are millions of others. Bad move" wrote one user, in a typical comment. In response, G.M. this afternoon at first apologized and said it would "make changes" to the campaign, then hours later announced it had "decided to pull the ad from our rotation."

Via Grist