The ad shows body bags being stacked outside a tobacco company office building to illustrate how many people die each day from tobacco use.

The commercial was created by the American Legacy Foundation, an organization formed and financed as part of the 1998 nationwide tobacco settlement.

The ad drew criticism from Philip Morris because it was filmed at the cigarette giant's New York headquarters. The locale, however, is not mentioned in the commercial. The company also argued that the ad did not abide by the settlement agreement. Under the agreement, the money provided for anti-smoking ads could not be used to directly attack or vilify companies or individuals.

NBC spokeswoman Maria Battaglia said the network decided to run the ad because it had been changed to meet their concerns. "So far we have had no negative reaction to it and don't foresee any," she said.

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