A mattress company in San Antonio just aired a commercial that exploits 9/11 to such an extreme that even Rudy Giuliani probably has an issue with it.
We’re not kidding.
You HAVE to watch this ad:
To be clear, at minimum three people those it was a good idea to…
FIRST, use 9/11 as the basis behind a sale.
SECOND, include a pair of employees of Middle Eastern descent in the ad.
THIRD, stack up mattresses in the shape of the Twin Towers.
FOURTH, have the Middle Eastern employees crash into those Twin Towers and cause them to topple to the ground.
FIFTH, have the daughter of the owner of the company smirk and say they’ll "never forget" the tragedy that happened in 2001.
Must we really explain all the levels of tastelessness that are at play here?
Fortunately, viewers reacted to the commercial with the proper mix of shock, horror and utter disgust.
They left an array of angry reactions on Facebook, prompting a lengthy response from the owner.
You can read it here and scroll down for a handful of excerpts from it:
“I say this unequivocally, with sincere regret: the video is tasteless and an affront to the man and women who lost their lives on 9/11," the above statement reads.
It continues:
"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.
"All I can say is I am deeply sorry and on behalf of the entire Miracle Mattress family, I accept responsibility for the thoughtless and crude advertisement and will immediately hold my employees accountable for this serious lapse in decency."
This is at least a strong Mea Culpa from the company owner.
It certainly beats that of his daughter, who says in the following news segment that "We’re Miracle Mattress! We make miracles happen!"
Really, she says this:
The owner, Mike Bonanno, concluded his statement as follows:
"Miracle Mattress strives to be a community partner and I could list our community outreach event and countless donations to the communities we serve.
"However, this one act negates years of work and a laundry list of what we have done will not suffice."
“We apologize and we promise to do better. Over the next several days, we will determine an appropriate response to our regret and support for the 9/11 victims and their families. But for now, only a sincere apology and acceptance of our fault is warranted."
We can now confirm that 30% of all mattress sales at Miracle Mattress this weekend will go to the 9/11 Fund.
So something positive did come out of this.
You might even say it was all worthwhile if the families of those who died on September 11, 2001 receive more money and assistance as a result.
And the owner could not have written a better statement, either. He clearly recognizes all the way in which this ad offends.
So kudos to him there.
But still. HOLY CRAP!
How did this commercial ever get made?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?