The ad Boeing Co., Bell Helicopter Textron, and the National Journal were forced to apologize for recently isn’t the only one produced by the unholy three. One in particular, so far flying under the radar so to speak, could be worse. AdWeek:
The image in the Osprey ad is one of several provocative visuals TM has created for print ads that appear in defense industry trade publications. An ad for Bell’s AH-1Z attack helicopter shows the craft rising out of a flaming background heavily armed with missiles. The headline reads: “We made it beautiful. Because it’s the last thing some people will ever see.”
Man. That’s enough to make you anxiously cast your eyes skyward in order to avoid the lightening strike God must surely be sending our way.
The other ad, which was specifically disavowed, was bad enough:
The ad, created by Interpublic Group’s TM Advertising in Irving, Texas, depicted a CV-22 Osprey aircraft delivering troops to the roof of a mosque. The headline read: “It descends from the heavens. Ironically it unleashes hell.”
…The ad for the CV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft depicted soldiers rappelling onto the roof of a building, labeled “Muhammad Mosque” in Arabic. The building has a dome, crescent moon and minaret, all common features of a mosque.
The galling thing is how much the parties involved don’t get it, even as the measured apologies and blame issue forth for a “clerical error” that allowed the ad to run after the proofs were supposedly destroyed.
“We recognize that some organizations and individuals may have been offended by its content and regret any concerns this advertisement may have raised,” the Bell statement read.
Concerns? These folks don’t seem concerned in the least. Wonder why they aren’t throwing roses at us in Iraq anymore.
