Advertisements That Stirred Us Up in 2001
N E W Y O R K, Dec. 27 -- From patriotic car ads that sprang up after the Sept. 11 attacks, to new cigarette ads promising fewer carcinogens, it has been a controversial year in the world of advertising.
Bob Garfield of Advertising Age magazine picked what he considered the most provocative ads of the year and shared them on Good Morning America today.
In the wake of Sept. 11, some people welcomed a new patriotism in certain ads, while others saw salesmen exploiting the crisis in search of a fast buck.
9/11 Ads
Garfield gave kudos to an ad for the Twin Towers Fund, a charity set up for the families of firefighters, police officers, emergency workers and other uniformed government employees impacted by the World Trade Center attack.
The ad for the charity features New York firefighter Capt. Timothy Stackpole. In a public service announcement recorded before his death, the firefighter — who had nearly died in a previous rescue — said, "The greatest high you can get in life is by helping somebody."
Stackpole died after rushing into Tower Two along with his team. The ad points out that Stackpole and 428 other rescue workers were lost in the World Trade Center tragedy.
"It shows, post 9/11 when everything changed, that you can be emotional, but you can do it with taste and respect for everyone, even victims," Garfield said. "The commercial, which included tape of Stackpole, was a beautiful tribute, not just to him, but to all firefighters."
In another Sept. 11-related ad, "Keep America Rolling," General Motors advertises zero percent financing deals available on cars. The ad copy says "The American dream. We refuse to let anyone take it away. So GM announces interest-free financing on every new car and every new truck, now through Oct. 31."
Garfield says he found the ad to be exploitive.
"They traded on tragedy to sell cars," Garfield said. "The ad, and the whole GM campaign was a big success, but they would have sold a lot of cars with zero percent financing without connecting it to 9/11 or getting the country rolling again."
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