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"Tsunami" Ad Offends Memory of September 11 Tragedy
NBC New York ^ | 9/1/09 | HASANI GITTENS

Posted on 09/01/2009 12:24:00 PM PDT by nickcarraway

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.

A new ad purportedly for the World Wildlife Fund features dozens of airplanes converging on lower Manhattan -- featuring the Twin Towers -- 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 ad is from the Brazilian arm of the WWF.

Sure, the 2004 tsunami was a horrible tragedy that killed over 200,000 people, and probably gets less media attention in the West than it deserves, but that's no reason to pick a fight with victims of another horrible tragedy.

AdWeek called the print add "tasteless and nightmarish," but that's putting it mildly.

The final line in the ad is "The planet is brutally powerful. Respect it. Preserve it."

AdFreak notes that the ad won an award in the "public awareness sector" and is credited to agency DDB Brasil for WWF-Brazil -- but ran in Israel, of all places. A representative for the US headquarters of WWF said they had been unaware of the offensive poster until today. "We are actively investigating the source of the ad now, but we strongly condemn both the message and the images portrayed," said the WWF-US spokesman Steve Ertel. WWF-Brasil didn't return emails for comment.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; News/Current Events; US: New York
KEYWORDS: 911; 911anniversary; advertising; agitprop; antiamericanism; badtaste; blameamericafirst; ddbbrazil; ecoterrorists; greenieweenies; hatespeech; moralequivalence; pravdamedia; tsunami; worldwildlifefund; wwf
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To: a fool in paradise

So, nature slaughters humans? What else is new? The only thing this is about is guilting people into sending money to the WWF. How exactly is that money going to prevent the next wall of water from doing the same thing?


21 posted on 09/01/2009 12:40:24 PM PDT by 50sDad (The Left cannot understand life is not in a test tube. Raise taxes, & jobs go away.)
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To: nickcarraway

The sad this is, most New Yorkers probably agree with the sentiments of the ad.


22 posted on 09/01/2009 12:46:10 PM PDT by Jeff Chandler (Health Care Reform has met the DEATH Panel.)
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To: nickcarraway

“The Tsunami Killed 100 Times More People Than 9/11”

“American Abortion Mills Killed More People EVERYDAY Than 9/11!”


23 posted on 09/01/2009 12:48:16 PM PDT by laweeks
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To: a fool in paradise
The myth is that WE (the Ugly Americans) created the tsunami because global warming. Or missile tests.

Neither global warming nore missile tests can't cause earthquakes, and so can't cause earthquake-generated tsunamis. That's beyond reasonable dispute.

Nuclear detonations are another matter—they might cause earthquakes. But we don't do those anymore—although others still do.

24 posted on 09/01/2009 12:48:59 PM PDT by sourcery (Obama Lied. The Economy Died!)
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To: sourcery

Karl Rove had a weather making machine, didn’t you hear?


25 posted on 09/01/2009 12:49:54 PM PDT by a fool in paradise (Kennedycare?Recall that "Animal Farm" begins with a Socialist Revolution to honor Big Major's legacy)
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To: nickcarraway

“The planet is brutally powerful. Respect it. Preserve it.”

The final line of the Add should have been:

Fear God, and serve your fellow man in the mission field.

I don’t need to worry about the planet.


26 posted on 09/01/2009 12:54:10 PM PDT by JSDude1 (www.wethepeopleindiana.org (Tea Party Member-Proud), www.travishankins.com (R- IN 09 2010!))
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To: BertWheeler
Please, Third World Thugs:

My nation has saved the world three times, going on a fourth if we count kicking YOUR @$$ in the next few years. We claim to be a Christian nation, but do that poorly, and even though we don't pay nearly enough attention to praising Our Lord, we are still the richest, most pampered population on the planet. We have the best health care, having killed most of the diseases that threaten us (and you, you're welcome), we've been to the moon and walked on the symbol of your religion forty years ago, we have at least a car to each family, and we are so blessed that we eat for entertainment.

You Muslim beggers? You live in sand heaps because the local Arab royalty won't split the oil money with you, and then they blame US so that you'll never think to kill off your own oppressive leaders and be free. You have a bazillion tinpot Imams, all of whom can order your around in any way they want because you are damn sheep with no idea of the power of the individual, which has been bread out of you by generations of power-hungry despots. The last impressive thing you invented was the zero, for God's sake, and while it really helped accounting along, it's been a thousand years now...how about something new? You are gullible to the point of incredulity, willing to kill your own daughters for some idiotic "honor", blow up your kids if it will hurt whomever the Imam says is an infidel, and your religion condones lying if it is to me.

As to your "Palestinian" subset, you've spent 50 years whining about the JOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSE while they have actually turned your old (stolen) stomping ground into an agricultural paradise, making the desert bloom, while you did nothing to it for the thousand years you had it on loan. (And when you were given back fully renovated sections of it, the first thing you did was smash perfectly functioning greenhouses...be cause, hey, they were owned by the JOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSE!!!!) You could take the money from the world and make YOUR part of the desert just as nice, of course, but you keep putting corrupt, grubby, gay, disease infested leaders in power who steal the money into Swiss bank accounts, leaving you as broke as your great grandfathers were...and you continue to blame US.

Every year thousands of you die on the way to holy sites during holy festivals which you seem to have every fifteen minutes, using up all of your life praying to a violent, spiteful faux-god who has left you poor, ignorant, and strand in crappy real estate. On top of this, giant walls of water periodically stream into your pathetic, impoverished countries and kill thousands of you, Allah's chosen.

Seriously, all of this taken as given, we barely acknowledge our God, and he has made us the richest nation on earth. You lay down your lives, money, children, and very existence for your baal-god, and he slaughters you without a thought. Have you ever considered that Allah is either a capricious demon laughing at you, so piddling weak he can't even divert a tsunami from those he claims to love, or else he hates your guts?

27 posted on 09/01/2009 1:00:35 PM PDT by 50sDad (The Left cannot understand life is not in a test tube. Raise taxes, & jobs go away.)
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To: a fool in paradise
Karl Rove had a weather making machine, didn’t you hear?

And apparently, it is more powerful than Allah. Gives you some perspective, doesn't it, Achmed?

28 posted on 09/01/2009 1:02:12 PM PDT by 50sDad (The Left cannot understand life is not in a test tube. Raise taxes, & jobs go away.)
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To: nickcarraway

This is disgusting. Comparing a natural disaster, no matter how horrible, to an intentional act by mass murdering terrorists shows a complete lack of a moral compass.

I have always just ignored world wildlife fund solicitations. If there are postage paid reply forms, I may indulge myself in some passive/aggressive retaliation. A couple of ounces of junk in their envelope should do it.


29 posted on 09/01/2009 1:11:07 PM PDT by Truth is a Weapon (Truth, it hurts soooo good!)
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To: JSDude1

If the planet is brutally powerful, what gives us the idea that we have the power to “preserve” it?


30 posted on 09/01/2009 1:15:33 PM PDT by SoothingDave
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To: nickcarraway
In fairness, WWF US sent this message to me via Twitter:

WWF is working 2 confirm legitimacy of ad & source. It was NOT created by WWF-US & we strongly condemn messaging & images

31 posted on 09/01/2009 1:17:00 PM PDT by Wyatt's Torch (I can explain it to you. I can't understand it for you.)
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To: nickcarraway
Just found this

WWF condemns 9/11 print ad by DDB Brazil

Link

[NOTE: The WWF says it never approved this ad and is condemning it. See the updates below.] Just in time for the anniversary of 9/11 comes this tasteless, nightmarish print ad for the World Wildlife Fund, showing dozens of planes headed for lower Manhattan. See a larger version here. The copy reads: "The tsunami killed 100 times more people than 9/11. The planet is brutally powerful. Respect it. Preserve it." Unfortunately, respect is the main thing lacking here. Exploiting one tragedy to try to prevent another is just stupid and self-defeating, and will always backfire. Via Advertolog, which credits the ad to DDB Brazil. UPDATE: It appears this ad actually managed to win a merit award for public service at The One Show this year. UPDATE: We spoke to a rep at the U.S. HQ of the WWF in Washington. She said the group "strongly condemns the messaging and the imagery" of the ad, and she added: "We can promise you this ad does not reflect the thoughts and feelings of this organization." WWF further says the ad was "never authorized or approved by any WWF person on the planet" and that the group is investigating the "unauthorized and illegal use of our logo." The group's official statement on the matter can be seen here.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

I feel better
32 posted on 09/01/2009 1:35:02 PM PDT by BornToBeAmerican (We the people, ..... never)
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To: BornToBeAmerican

Squeaky wheel gets the grease.


33 posted on 09/01/2009 1:49:52 PM PDT by a fool in paradise (Kennedycare?Recall that "Animal Farm" begins with a Socialist Revolution to honor Big Major's legacy)
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To: a fool in paradise
Karl Rove had a weather making machine, didn’t you hear?

The Left takes advantage of every opportunity to interpret whatever the Right does or says in the worst possible way, and then riducule us for it incessantly. We need to do the same to them, only ten times worse. Too bad we're such nice guys who can't seem to defend ourselves. Nice guys finish last...

34 posted on 09/01/2009 1:52:30 PM PDT by sourcery (Obama Lied. The Economy Died!)
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To: BornToBeAmerican
The NBC New York article was also updated with the statement from WWF US:
"WWF strongly condemns this offensive and tasteless ad and did not authorize its production or publication. It is our understanding that it was a concept offered by an outside advertising agency seeking our business in Brazil. The concept was summarily rejected by WWF and should never have seen the light of day. It is an unauthorized use of our logo and we are aggressively pursuing action to have it removed from websites where it is being currently featured. We strongly condemn the messages and the images portrayed in this ad. On behalf of WWF, here in the US and around the world, we can promise you this ad does not in any way reflect the thoughts and feelings of the people of our organization.”/

35 posted on 09/01/2009 2:05:40 PM PDT by Wyatt's Torch (I can explain it to you. I can't understand it for you.)
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To: nickcarraway

But their message in this ad doesn’t make sense in light of their usual propaganda.

“The planet is brutally powerful” and yet so weak that another millionth of a percent of carbon dioxide will send the planet hurtling into catastrophe.


36 posted on 09/01/2009 2:23:40 PM PDT by denydenydeny ("I'm sure this goes against everything you've been taught, but right and wrong do exist"-Dr House)
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To: nickcarraway

All the experts agree... America’s abuse of tectonic plates caused the tsunami. Excessive commerce, prosperity and personal freedom resulted in excessive disruption to the planet’s crust which led to a temperature increase in the earth’s mantle leading to a plate shift. If only George Bush had forwarded our gross national product to global tectonic plate research we could have avoided this entire catastrophe. Perhaps Obama will appoint a tectonic plate czar to insure proper funding to avert devastating plate activity.


37 posted on 09/01/2009 4:38:51 PM PDT by End_Clintonism_Now (POLITICAL DISSIDENT as of 11/4/08)
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To: End_Clintonism_Now

Do you remember after hurricane Katrina that the lefties said Karl Rove planted nukes in the Gulf of Mexico that caused hurricane Katrina, so it would kill blacks?


38 posted on 09/01/2009 6:29:51 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

I remember it well. I also remember the “eyewitness accounts” of explosions at the levees during the height of the storm. These accounts were later explained a “planted explosives” - all an effort to kill black people. Here’s a President that’s portrayed as “dumber-than-a-stump” but capable of engineering precision detonations during a Cat-4 hurricane. Ultimately they said it was his failure to sign on to Kyoto that caused such a massive hurricane (even though the storms form off the coast of Africa). These people must be miserable not having Bush to blame acts of nature on anymore.


39 posted on 09/01/2009 6:54:54 PM PDT by End_Clintonism_Now (POLITICAL DISSIDENT as of 11/4/08)
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To: sourcery

Exactly. We sure live in a dumbed down time don’t we.


40 posted on 08/06/2010 9:18:16 AM PDT by DoughtyOne (Latest most accurate Az Poll to date, of 14 likely voters: McCain 137%, Hayworth -37% (+/- 92%))
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