UPDATED: Agencies Respond to 9/11 Ad Controversy

While the WWF rejected DDB ad agency's terrible idea for a campaign, the spec design still made it to the One Show, won an award, and is now causing them about 100 times more problems than the Tsunami (which incidentally killed 100 times more people than 9/11).

Yesterday we heard from the WWF, who took swift action in making it clear they were in no way supporting this ad; last night Keith Olbermann declared the agency The Worst; and now the U.S. division of DDB has spoken out, blaming it on their Brazilian branch:

“The ‘Tsunami’ ad for World Wildlife Fund Brazil was created by a team at DDB Brazil in December 2008. The team in question is no longer with the agency. DDB Brazil apologizes to anyone who was offended or affected by the ad. It should never have been made and it does not portray the philosophy of the agency.”

We're still waiting to hear from the One Show, and have also contacted DDB's Jeff Swystun for further comment on why this ad was ever even entered into a contest.

UPDATE: President of the One Club, which puts on the prestigious One Show, has responded to our request for comment. Kevin Swanepoel tells us, "The ad was withdrawn by DDB Brazil. It is not a merit award winner in the One Show and will not appear in the One Show Annual." That's great, except yesterday it was on the One Club's website listed as a winner. In fact, here's a screenshot!

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Carlson in News on September 2, 2009 4:33 PM

Comments [rss]

penetrode

send your opinions to info@oneclub.org, oneshow@oneclub.org, membership@oneclub.org

Past Taliban

Be very, very afraid.

schizofriendly

Naw, don't be afraid.

Whatever happens to you is your fate. You weren't made to last, and you've always known it. Allay your worries by loving and being loved. Go on! Do it right now! Someone this very moment needs your affinity and understanding—and you need theirs. Waste no time.

mellow_fellow

Anyone else notice that Sergio Valente is one of the ad guys?

Bubba

Well, it appears that Kevin Swanepoel is a goddamned liar...

Rocknrope

Liar, liar, pants on fire.

sluggo

Maybe I'm dense, but what the hell is this advertising?

militza

for a brief second I thought they were referring to the World Wrestling Federation.

I thought what do guys running around in hotpants have to do with this?

mellow_fellow

Someone already made that joke on an earlier post.

militza

note to self- read posts more carefully. be aware of entertainment industry acronyms.

heehee

Gothamist_Cynic

They're the WWE now. The WWF sued them a while ago.

Alex

This ad rules so much. It's so effective and the team who made it should be promoted, not fired.

hotstepper

i sure hope none of those planes land in a bike lane or it's gonna be a big bitchfest over here.

valeriob

this won't get more than 20 posts, don't worry.

corbindallas

Does anyone know where I can get a high resolution picture for my desktop. Looks cool.

ides_of_march

They can always sell it to Teterboro air traffic control.

winstonsmith

let me guess: gothamist is going to drag this 'story' out as long as it did the pug owner or the hipster grifter.

those click stats must be at an all time low as of late.

PTG in nyc

I disagree for the following reasons:

1) You commented on it after all

2) I think it's a decently big deal that the people that gave the award for this are now saying they never gave the award for it.

However, yes we are likely to keep hearing about this and your general point isn't wrong.

winstonsmith

right, but it's kind of a catch-22, no? if i comment on it, i get called out for doing so but, if i don't, i'm not able to register my opinion that this is a non-story. in the end, it reinforces my point - gothamist (among other sites) publishes what is essentially crap in order to stir up the masses (and yes, i fall into that category, like everyone else). sure, i don't have to read the story, but i assume the comments section is available for readers like myself who would rather see actual news rather than this sensational piece.

T

This is what happens when you treat a blog like a real journalistic entity with a relevant newsroom. If you want real news, you know where to look for it. Change where you get your news or lower your standards - anything else is just whining.

winstonsmith

"Gothamist: New York City News . . ."

it calls itself a news site. how am i whining again?

sasso

i was going to just say the same thing...

boss person: "hey jen! our stats are down! quick, post a retardedly minimal and probably pointless update about that post you posted yesterday that came from that other post from that other website!"

jen: "man, this job is easy!"

boss person: "i know, right?"

end of scene.