Robert's Blog

Today marked the 12 year anniversary of 9/11, and AT&T attempted to commemorate the victims via Twitter. It is an excellent gesture to pay tribute to those who died in the tragedy, but AT&T’s decision to combine 9/11 imagery as a means to promote their smartphones was distasteful. The use of product placement was viewed as an attempt to commercialize tragedy as the statement “#neverforget” came across as an ad rather than a message. It is difficult to ignore the conflict of interest present, as the company’s twitter account is a marketing tool solely used to promote products to public.

Ethically, AT&T’s attempt to brand and associate themselves with the intense patriotism and sentiments that go along with 9/11 is despicable, as they did so in the same manner business align their image via celebrities and sponsors. Due to public outcry, AT&T realized their plan had backfired and took down the tweet shortly after it was posted. The backlash was justifiable as AT&T’s tweet failed to meet their social responsibilities as it only served to “strengthen the already too prevalent view that the pursuit of profits is wicked and immoral and must be curbed and controlled by external forces.” (178)

Article: http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/09/11/att-pulls-iphone-themed-911-tweet-after-mass-outrage/

Source: Corporate Ethics and Corporate Governance
Zimmerli, Walther Holzinger, Markus Richter, Klaus

Image: http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/5230a349ecad04731484f3e3-583-691/screen%20shot%202013-09-11%20at%2012.58.50%20pm.png