There are many ways of observing and commemorating the 15th year since 9/11. Here in New York City for example, we’re shining two giant beams of light in the sky, as we always do, and generally avoiding the visitors constantly flocking to the 9/11 Memorial as if it’s a tourist attraction. This far removed, and over a decade deep into 9/11 thinkpieces, it can feel as though no discourse surrounding 9/11 can offend us. Today, though, that notion was proven wrong by, um, a Texas mattress company?
Miracle Mattress, based in San Antonio, is having something called the “Twin Towers Sale,” in which the purchase of a mattress gets any second mattress free for the price of a twin. (Get it?) In an ad released on their Facebook page earlier today, they took that concept and ran with it, and people hated it. The Dallas News reports that the video was led by manager Cherise Bonnano, who has starred in other of the store’s advertisements, and it’s pretty self explanatory:
Why... did they... do this? Were they trying to “go viral,” as the adults say? Were they just being boneheaded? After the ad was met with the outrage that they should have known was inevitable from the beginning, they removed it and posted an apology on their Facebook page:
To all of those who have seen our 9/11 sale. We are very sorry we have offended you. Our intentions were not to hurt anyone at all. Our staff is full of military and some relatives have passed away due to 9/11. We are promoters of peace and love. We have given abundantly to our community here in San Antonio and wish to remain known as a company who respects and loves others. We hope you find it in your hearts to forgive us. Please accept our apology.
This move is in such monumentally bad taste that it has the distinction of bumping that Florida WalMart display in which Diet Coke cans were stacked like the Twin Towers down to second dumbest 9/11-adjacent ode to late capitalism.