Yahoo Finance Brands under fire for insensitive 9/11 promotions
American telecom giant AT&T has been forced to apologise for a 9/11-related tribute that sparked outrage online.
The company's Twitter post said “Never Forget” and featured a photo of the New York skyline with a smartphone showing the area where the Twin Towers stood.
AT&T was forced to retract the post and offered an apology, "We apologise to anyone who felt our post was in poor taste," the company said in a statement posted to Twitter after deleting the photo. "The image was solely meant to pay respect to those affected by the 9/11 tragedy."
We apologize to anyone who felt our post was in poor taste. The image was solely meant to pay respect to those affected by the 9/11 tragedy.
— AT&T (@ATT) September 11, 2013
While the image was pulled, the apology did not seem to go any better than the offending post itself.
“The apology is somehow more insulting”, wrote one user. “My cousin did not die to sell more smartphones,” wrote another.
AT&T: "Never Forget"… that even though our tweet was tactless, you're still under contract with us for 18 more months!
— Charlie Warzel (@cwarzel) September 11, 2013
AT&T wasn't the only company accused of using 9/11 as a ploy to sell a product. A Twitter user posted a photo taken at a Marriott hotel of a tone-deaf gesture.
"In remembrance of those we lost on 9/11," a sign in the lobby read, "the hotel will provide complimentary coffee and mini muffins from 8:45 - 9:15 a.m."
"We apologise and understand why some people may have misunderstood the intent of the offer," Marriott Hotels said in a statement. "We are reminding our hotels to use discretion and be sensitive when remembering major events such as 9/11."
Full statement from Marriott about tone-deaf 9/11 tribute of free mini-muffins for 1/2 hour https://t.co/fk0KlxQOlc pic.twitter.com/18cAG1iZWs
— Dan Amira (@DanAmira) September 11, 2013
Check out which other brands have used the tragedy to sell products.
