“We would never depict such an offensive slogan in our advertising”
It seems that someone at Canada’s biggest phone company Bell Canada thought it would be a good idea to tap into that there ultra-cool punk music scene in order to generate new business. So they created these new ads meant to be fashionable and cutting edge. The problem is, those who approved the ads either didn’t look close enough (as they claim) or they just didn’t know what they were looking at.
The ads for the company’s Solo Discount Service included a pretty girl all decked out in her best punk regalia that included a button that read ‘Belsen was a Gas’. No doubt someone figured using the title of a Sex Pistols song would show off their coolness. However, nobody seemed to bother to realize that the controversial song title was a reference to Nazi Germany’s Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
The funniest part comes from Bell Canada’s apology after complaints from those finding this an insult to Holocaust victims and their families. They claimed the use of the song title in the ad was … get this … ‘inadvertent’. According to Reuters News, a spokesman went on to say. “Obviously, we would never depict such an offensive slogan in our advertising.” Um … but you did.
And though they were quick to remove the ads once the fervor began, it’s yet another example of those who are out of touch with the world around them trying to pretend they know what’s up. Statements from the company tried to explain how such a ‘mistake’ was made claiming the copies they saw were way smaller than a billboard so they did not see the button. Still, someone, somewhere along the line thought it was a good idea.
I’d like to think maybe it was some cheeky young exec, angry at the corporate world and looking for subtle revenge for some infraction was responsible. But in the end, this was probably not the case. So I’m urging these corporate types who think they know how to be cool to stop and think for a minute because chances are, they don’t. They should stick to listening to and quoting from Faith Hill or Toby Keith or High School Musical or some other such safe thing.
See Also:
When Old timers Try to Be Cool
