As if there was any doubt, trying to profit off of the worst terrorist attack in American history is not a good idea. The latest example comes to us from Walmart, with a 9/11 display that gets everything wrong.
One of the megastore’s outlets in Florida somehow thought it would be a good idea to set up a Coke display using two columns of Coke Zero boxes to represent the Twin Towers. In the background are red, white and blue boxes of other Coke products (Coke, Diet Coke and Dasani bottled water) meant to look like the American flag. Above all of this is a sign that reads “We Will Never Forget.” With a photo showing the skyline over New York City.
“We stopped and stared at it like, oh my god,” Richard Shawn, a Walmart customer who took picture, told BuzzFeed. “Nobody seemed to be noticing it, it wasn’t very crowded, and I got the feeling that it had just been assembled. So we took some pics and went on our way.”
But after the reaction online, the person behind the Coke display is probably wishing that the world would immediately forget their misguided gesture. After all, even if it was done with the best of intentions, it comes across as a tacky, cash grab on the eve of a day that is remembered as one of the country’s greatest tragedies.
The photo quickly went viral, with people chiming in on the incredibly poor taste on display:
For it’s part, a Walmart spokesman told the Orlando Weekly that the display was quickly taken down in light of the online outrage. Spokesman Charles Crowson said Coke typically provides suggestions for product displays but that in this case, the display was approved by Walmart itself.
Bottom line, when you’re remembering the 15th anniversary of 9/11 this week, let’s honor the victims and not try to make a quick buck.