‘I am truly horrified’: People react to company’s apology for ad mocking 9/11
It was one of those advertisements you finish watching and wonder: “Who thought this was a good idea?”
A San Antonio, Texas mattress store called Miracle Mattress posted an advertisement to their YouTube channel on Thursday. After severe backlash it was soon deleted, but a video of the ad remains and has racked up more than 650,000 views Friday morning.
It shows three employees, two men and a woman, excitedly telling customers they can get any size mattress for the cost of a twin mattress over the weekend in honor of the 15th anniversary of the attacks on September 11, 2001. Then the two male employees fall backwards into two towers of twin mattresses, knocking them over as the woman screams. She then turns to the camera and says, “we’ll never forget.”
The ad only runs about 20 seconds, but the consequences threaten to last much longer. After taking down the video, the company’s owner, Mike Bonnano, issued an apology calling the video “tasteless and an affront to the men and women who lost their lives on 9/11.” He said the video was created and posted without his approval.
“All I can say is I’m deeply sorry and on behalf of the entire Miracle Mattress family, I accept responsibility for this thoughtless and crude advertisement and will immediately hold my employees accountable for this serious lapse of decency,” Bonnano said.
One problem: Facebook users quickly pointed out that the woman in the video, Cherise Bonnano, was not only the manager of the store according to her Facebook page, but the owner’s daughter.
On Friday, Bonnano said on Facebook that the mattress store will be closed indefinitely. He said the company also “will be silent through the 9/11 anniversary to avoid any further distractions from a day of recognition and remembrance for the victims and their families.”
Bonanno also said he will announce next week “accountability actions” for the employees who produced the ad, along with plans to offer support for 9/11 victims funds.
Many people said they would not be buying mattresses from the store, and people in New York City started commenting saying how the video had personally offended them.
“The terror of that day was never felt by you or anyone who worked on that commercial or even came up with the idea of a sale gimmick on that day,” wrote one Facebook user, who identified himself as an employee of the New York City Fire Department. “While I don’t care [about] you disrespecting me (as a paramedic I’ve gotten used to it), but you have disrespected nearly 3,000 people who no longer have a voice. While you and your company have forgotten, many of us have not.”
“I’m from NYC and live in San Antonio now, and you will never get my business or sell to anyone I know if I can help it,” another user wrote. “Disgusting how you mock the deaths of others in order to make a quick sale.”
The sale is not being advertised on the company website.
This story was originally published September 9, 2016 at 8:27 AM with the headline "‘I am truly horrified’: People react to company’s apology for ad mocking 9/11."