A Florida Walmart featured a Coke display that offended a significant group of people. The store stacked Coke cans in the form of the World Trade Center’s twin towers below a poster that said “We will never forget” with Walmart and Coca-Cola logos in the right corner. People did not like the marketing strategy and denounce it via Twitter.

The display had a sign hanging above with a photo of the twin towers and the logos for Walmart and Coca-Cola. Coke cans were arranged as an American flag in the background and with black boxes of Coca-Cola, the store recreated the two towers. All of the products used in the display were from the famous soda company and a printed sign hung above the display as well advertising Walmart’s rollback prices for the soft drinks.

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Social Media did not take well the bad taste of Walmart’s creativity. Image Credit: Damian Dovarganes, AP /OC Register

Twitter was filled with disapproval posts regarding Florida’s Walmart strategy allegedly proposed by Coke. Walmart said the design for the display for the store in Panama City Beach, Florida, came from the supplier and was approved by the store management.

Walmart spokesperson Charles Crowson told the Orlando Weekly that the display was taken down on Wednesday, a day after social medias burst with negative comments regarding the offensive display.

One user tweeted the image was one of the lamest things he had ever seen, while other thought the marketing strategy was it was the lamest thing he had ever seen.

The reason behind the offensive display of Coca-Cola products in that Walmart in Florida and others who had tried to use 9/11 for marketing

Walmart said they hold 9/11 in the highest regard, and there was nothing disrespectful intended by the display. And the Coca-Cola bottler for the region stated the display was meant to honor local firefighters and support an upcoming event for their organization. They apologize that anyone was offended or misunderstood its intent, and finished saying they had replaced the display.

But the most remarkable example of a failed attempt for using 9/11 as a marketing booster happened in 2014. Birmingham, Alabama-based clothing company Tied to the South published a tweet requesting users 2,296 retweets for each person who died in the tragedy, showing a picture of one of the towers under attack.

The public did not take well the idea, and the clothing company had to remove the tweet, but a user took a pick and the outcry continued for several hours.

Timehop was another company that failed to get people to honor 9/11 and also in 2014. Timehop app’s Twitter account posted a tweet showing their mascot looking and cartoonish New York City image with two beams of light where the twin towers were, and another showing the dinosaur pointing at the first photo saying “Memba dis?” (Do you remember this?).

Needless to say, people did not like that other marketing strategy either.

Source: The Washinton Post