It’s been eight years since 9/11 and the horror of that day will never be forgotten. So, why would an advertising agency even dream up an ad with visual references to dozens of planes flying into New York City’s skyscrapers? Well, an advertising agency did just that.
The advertisement is titled “Tsunami” and was done by DDB Brasil for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The ad states: “The Tsunami killed 100 times more people than 9/11. The planet is brutally powerful. Respect it. Preserve it. www.wwf.org”
The problem is the WWF did not authorize the advertisement. So, what is it? According to Advertolog it is a “spec ad” from the ad agency seeking to do business with the WWF. The ad has caused a furor around the Internet forcing the WWF to issue the following statement:
“WWF strongly condemns this offensive and tasteless ad and did not authorize its production or publication. It is our understanding that it was a concept offered by an outside advertising agency seeking our business in Brazil. The concept was summarily rejected by WWF and should never have seen the light of day. It is an unauthorized use of our logo and we are aggressively pursuing action to have it removed from websites where it is being currently featured. We strongly condemn the messages and the images portrayed in this ad. On behalf of WWF, here in the US and around the world, we can promise you this ad does not in any way reflect the thoughts and feelings of the people of our organization.”
Was this careless creativity gone too far? Why did an ad company do this? Is this “ad” a political scare tactic aimed at the American public and the Obama administration?
Correction: According to an article in today’s New York Daily News the ad was created by an ad agency in Brazil to run in Israel. It was not created by an Israeli ad company as first reported.
Consumer Traveler readers, what do you think?
