On days such as today, September 11th, business ethics are often tested. Sometimes companies seem to forget how personally people can take references to these tragic events. We often hear about companies that have offended many people with their actions pertaining to crises and controversial topics. I spent some time reading and thinking about a news article I discovered on www.cbc.ca, about this very topic:
Poor judgement?
I believe that although these companies may have been attempting a sincere way of remembering and honouring the events of 9/11, it was dangerous to use such a touchy subject for advertising. They should not be taking advantage of an event like this to sell their product, however honourable they intended their actions to be, and I believe it to be very distasteful. I think the people in charge should have taken more time to consider how their actions could be perceived by the public. It is obvious that these companies are, as we discussed last Tuesday, in the difficult position of “saving face”, and are rapidly attempting damage control. Just like Sauder handling the very offensive “Frosh Chant” feedback, we see these companies in a similar situation with their 9/11 related advertising.
Sauder Frosh Chant: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2013/09/09/bc-ubc-frosh-rape-chant.html