Companies that included branding in their tributes to the victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks felt the wrath of consumers on Thursday, the 13th anniversary of the tragedy.
CVS’ @CVS_Extra account tweeted an image of the "Tribute in Light" beams that mark Lower Manhattan around the anniversary of the attacks every year with the text "we remember." However, the pharmacy brand drew the ire of critics on social media for including its logo in the bottom-right-hand corner of the tweet.
The message was deleted on Thursday morning. As of a few hours later, the most recent tweet on its account was the company’s September 3 announcement that it was pulling all tobacco products from its shelves.
Did @CVS_Extra seriously "brand" a 9/11 memorial photo? Who in their marketing department would approve that?! pic.twitter.com/OCOLV1zZUc
— Adam Greenbaum (@5280Adam) September 11, 2014
Another brand that deleted its 9/11 tribute tweet was Build a Bear Workshop, which featured a teddy bear in camouflage.
.@buildabear deleted its 9/11 tweet, but the Internet #NeverForgets pic.twitter.com/6XbrPkxgET
— Neetzan Zimmerman (@neetzan) September 11, 2014
However, it left up a tweet promoting its Captain America-themed bear.
"@MomsToday: Blgr: Captain America is Back @BuildABear #babwcaptainamericabear http://t.co/2IgtGyd7yD #moms" pic.twitter.com/QTG3uUBT7w
— Build-A-BearWorkshop (@buildabear) September 11, 2014
Supplement chain The Vitamin Shoppe also created a 9/11-themed tweet with its branding at the bottom. As of 1 pm EST, the tweet remained on its Twitter account.
@VitaminShoppe thank you for using mass murder to sell over priced vitamins and whey powder!
— sk45202 (@sk45202) September 11, 2014
A number of other national brands created 9/11 tweets without branding.
as a company with roots in NYC, we share honor, remembrance, and love for the lives lost this day. #neverforget pic.twitter.com/c0kZJT2KhZ
— Tasti D-Lite (@tastidlite) September 11, 2014
#Remember911 #NeverForget pic.twitter.com/ZL8Rqhbhpi
— Hoover's (@Hoovers) September 11, 2014
Our hearts and thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragic events that took place 13 years ago today. #NeverForget
— Huggies® (@Huggies) September 11, 2014
