“Tsunami” Ad Offends Memory of September 11 Tragedy

It’s enough to turn your stomach. Or, if you’re a New Yorker who lived through the September 11th attacks, give you a serious case of the heebie-jeebies. An ad, purportedly for the World Wildlife Fund in Brazil, although the U.S. WWF has strongly condemned it — that features dozens of airplanes converging on lower Manhattan, with the line “The Tsunami Killed 100 Times More People Than 9/11.”

The ad was first brought to our attention by Gothamist, but was originally picked up by Adweek.com’s AdFreak blog, which reports that the print piece is from the Brazilian arm of the WWF.

Later, it was found that the piece was just for spec, turned out by some questionable creative types at a Brazilian Ad agency.

New York, NY – Outrage Over Ad Showing Planes Crashing Into Lower Manhattan

New York, NY – The World Wildlife Fund is joining a growing chorus of voices expressing outrage over an ad bearing its symbol that shows dozens of planes bearing down on downtown Manhattan with a tag line that reads, “The Tsunami Killed 100 Times More People Than 9/11.”

The ad was leaked just prior to the anniversary of the attacks of September 11th, with copy that states, “The tsunami killed 100 times more people than 9/11. The planet is brutally powerful. Respect it. Preserve it.”