The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

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By Doug Zanger, Americas Editor

September 11, 2016 | 4 min read

A San-Antonio, Texas-based mattress retailer has come under deserved and serious fire for a poorly-conceived “twin towers sale” promotion around the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in New York City, Washington DC and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The tasteless ad by Miracle Mattress, reported by the San Antonio Express-News and posted on YouTube begins with “What better way to remember 9/11 than with a twin towers sale?” and ends with two men falling backwards into a pile of mattresses.

In a statement, the retailer's owner, Mike Bonanno said: “I say this unequivocally, with sincere regret: the video is tasteless and an affront to the men and women who lost their lives on 9/11. Furthermore, it disrespects the families who lost their loved ones and continue to struggle with the pain of this tragedy every day of their lives.”

According to Bonanno, the ad was created without his or the company’s knowledge.

“The video was posted on Facebook without my knowledge or approval from our corporate office in Houston,” he added in the statement.

The company’s Facebook page has been summarily and deservedly swamped with negative comments — some of which imply that Bonanno’s daughter is the woman in the video itself.

The backlash has been so heavy that the company has been forced to close the store indefinitely and plans to issue a public statement sometime next week.

This is not the only ill-thought out 9/11 promotion this year. A Panama City, Florida Walmart was slammed for creating a Coca-Cola display with black Coke Zero boxes forming two towers, with a “We’ll Never Forget” banner, that includes the NYC skyline pre-attacks, above it. Charles Crowson, a spokesperson for Walmart told Orlando Weekly that: “Coke typically approaches Walmart with display ideas, and they either approve or deny it. In this case, Walmart approved the 9/11 display.” The display, according to Crowson, was being taken down.

This is not the first time there has been controversy around brands and the anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

In 2014 Paramount Australia had to backtrack from a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles poster on its September 11th release, showing the four main characters of the film jumping from a burning building, reminiscent of the World Trade Center attacks.

In a more high-profile 2009 instance, the World Wildlife Fund and BBD Brazil used imagery of many planes approaching the Twin Towers to illustrate that the death toll of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was much higher than on September 11, 2001 — with the copy reading: "The tsunami killed 100 times more people than 9/11. The planet is brutally powerful. Respect it. Preserve it."

Marian Salzman, chief executive of Havas PR North America told the Guardian that 9/11 tributes from brands, as well-intentioned as they may be, can come across as too opportunistic in a time that is better spent on reflection.

“I’d feel a brand respects me more and understands me better if they left a few things sacrosanct … Do me a favor, let a national day of mourning be a day about mourning.”

9/11 Coca-Cola Advertising

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