The ad, which is credited to Saatchi & Saatchi France, for the Courrier International, suggests that if the twin towers of the World Trade Center had been shorter, the two jets flown by Islamic extremists would have missed their targets. The tagline of the ad is "learn to anticipate".
The goal of the ad is to "promote a better understanding of world events", but that is not the reaction it has sparked on blogs.
described the ad as "offensive and ridiculous" and said that the French magazine was essentially "blaming us [Americans] for the terrorist attacks, because we didn't anticipate. How the fuck does that 'promote a better understanding of world events'?"
Another poster said the ad failed "in that it is offensive and utterly un-clever", but added: "I now know who Courrier International are. That's the ultimate point of advertising, really. This thing 'worked' in that grabbed our attention and we're talking about it".
For others, the issue was not so much the ad, but the fact that it was French: "Just to clarify, I don't mind 9/11 jokes – especially if I or another American are making them. But as for France? Sorry, monsieur! TOO SOON!"
The "Why is it that every year, right before 9/11, we get a tasteless new 9/11-themed advertisement?"
Last year, it had been the turn of DDB Brasil, which was forced to apologise for a campaign it created for the WWF. That campaign saw not two, but tens of planes flying into the New York skyline, in order to highlight how much more catastrophic natural disasters such as the 2005 tsunami are, than man-made ones.
Ad Freak wrote: "Now, we get this ad for a French newspaper showing planes flying above the Twin Towers, which appear to be about half their normal height. 'Learn to anticipate' is the headline. Moronic on every level."
The goal of the ad is to "promote a better understanding of world events", but that is not the reaction it has sparked on blogs.
described the ad as "offensive and ridiculous" and said that the French magazine was essentially "blaming us [Americans] for the terrorist attacks, because we didn't anticipate. How the fuck does that 'promote a better understanding of world events'?"
Another poster said the ad failed "in that it is offensive and utterly un-clever", but added: "I now know who Courrier International are. That's the ultimate point of advertising, really. This thing 'worked' in that grabbed our attention and we're talking about it".
For others, the issue was not so much the ad, but the fact that it was French: "Just to clarify, I don't mind 9/11 jokes – especially if I or another American are making them. But as for France? Sorry, monsieur! TOO SOON!"
The "Why is it that every year, right before 9/11, we get a tasteless new 9/11-themed advertisement?"
Last year, it had been the turn of DDB Brasil, which was forced to apologise for a campaign it created for the WWF. That campaign saw not two, but tens of planes flying into the New York skyline, in order to highlight how much more catastrophic natural disasters such as the 2005 tsunami are, than man-made ones.
Ad Freak wrote: "Now, we get this ad for a French newspaper showing planes flying above the Twin Towers, which appear to be about half their normal height. 'Learn to anticipate' is the headline. Moronic on every level."
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