Sensitivity 101: Drinking and driving and running down pedestrians is not the least bit amusing.The above cartoon for a Winnipeg Sun used car dealership flyer clearly indicates the anti-drinking and driving campaigns of police and MADD still have miles and miles to travel.
In 2008, this ad is beyond belief. We'll let the description of the McDougall Auto Superstore ad by Winnipeg Free Press reporter James Turner set the scene:
"The full-colour, letter-sized cartoon insert depicts five red-nosed people partying in a car being driven irresponsibly by a wild-eyed man.
"As the driver speeds through a red light at a crosswalk, a police officer appears to be fleeing for his life as the vehicle tries to run him down.
"Passengers in the vehicle are also depicted to be consuming what appears to alcohol and smoking - others vomit out the car’s window into the street.
"The flyer, placed in the Winnipeg Sun by McDougall Auto Superstore, a city used auto dealership, asks readers to “steal a deal off our lot.”
What is more incredulous is the ad appeared a week after Tony Lanzellotti, 55, a Winnipeg cab driver, was killed when a stolen SUV ran a red light and crashed into his taxi.
Readers complained to the Sun; Winnipeg police complained to the dealership; Sam Katz, the city's mayor, said it was "in very poor taste"; Kevin Klein, Sun publisher and CEO, apologized to readers and the car dealership cancelled plans to repeat the ad.
"We certainly apologize to anyone who may have been offended by this ad," Klein said in Tuesday's Sun.
Klein said the Sun doesn't review insert ads for content but "we need to review our policy for inserts."
Say what, Kevin? A hard core porno flyer, hate literature or other objectionable material could be inserted without the knowledge of management?
OK, but what the hell was the "outside agency" that created the ad for the car dealership thinking and the dealership for approving it?
Yes, sad to say, police and Mothers Against Drunk Driving have a lot more work to do.
suggest you investigate the difference between incredulous and incredible
ReplyDeletevic deboni
once again the integrity of management is clearly in the gutter here. How is it possible that a newspaper is allowed to be run by a publisher with such low intergrity. And all inserts are viewed at some point by upper management before being inserted. There's a schedule for each insert and sometimes they get pulled. I'm pretty sure this one got passed around a few times before going out.......
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