The show must go on
Nevertheless, many advertisers and media outlets largely refrain from running commercials and ads on September 11
Nevertheless, many advertisers and the media largely refrain from running commercials and advertisements on September 11th. High viewing figures and circulation are guaranteed. In the USA and Switzerland, the media and advertisers largely want to do without ads and commercials immediately around the September 11th commemorations - also for reasons of piety.
The destruction of the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001 was also a disaster for the United States media. They lost revenues of between 300 and 600 million dollars by replacing the planned program with reporting for days on end and dispensing with advertising during this time.
One week from now will be the first anniversary of the attacks. Media and clients are faced with the question of how they should deal with advertising this time. The trade magazine Advertising Age offered some help in deciding: it surveyed 307 Americans. According to the survey, 51 percent of the population are in favor of not advertising on September 11. 34 percent agree with advertising and 15 percent have no opinion. Although another Ad Age survey three weeks later showed the opposite, the media and advertisers in the USA opted for the cautious route. TV stations ABC, Fox, MSNBC and CNN will broadcast special reports throughout the day to mark the anniversary. Fox News Channel will do without advertising altogether, others at least during the most sensitive moments. However, it is noticeable that the stations are shying away from new losses - estimated at 50 to 60 million dollars.
Public service announcements instead of commercials
New York's A&E Television Networks, for example, will not interrupt the broadcast of the memorial events with commercials, but will broadcast programs related to the events of September 11. "Still, it's quite possible we won't have any big national advertisers at all," A&E Vice President Whitney Goig told the New York Times. "A lot of people have told us, 'Move my advertising out of that day, away from the sensitive programs."
According to the New York Times, Coca-Cola, General Motors, Miller Brewing and Nissan, as well as American Airlines and United Airlines, are among the companies that want to do without advertising altogether. Kraft Foods is only advertising in media that does not deal with the anniversary, and Boeing is limiting itself to sponsoring a commemorative concert.
Companies that produce commercials and advertisements on the subject of the attacks are walking a fine line. Last September, beer brewer Anheuser-Busch was generally praised for a TV commercial in which its symbolic animal, a draught horse, bowed down in front of the New York skyline. General Motors, on the other hand, came under fire because the company called on Americans to look ahead and apparently understood this to mean taking out a financial loan to buy a car.
Many places therefore prefer to rely on so-called public service announcements, political messages that do not name the sender or are supported by charitable organizations. Michael Drexler, CEO of Optimedia's US division, believes that this reflects the general attitude of the population. "People feel that you have to respect this day of remembrance and not commercialize it in any way," he told the New York Times.
Swiss TVs see no reason to stop advertising
The anniversary of the attacks also receives a lot of attention in the Swiss media. Here, however, readers and viewers have to put up with advertising. For example on SF DRS, where reports from New York are broadcast days in advance and several special programs are aired on September 11. "We discussed the issue, of course, but we agreed: we advertise as normal," says Ingrid Deltenre, Director of SRG marketer Publisuisse. She sees no contradiction between advertising and the events of September 11: "Thousands die of hunger every day, there is no reason to celebrate a special Memorial Day here." No client has yet asked that their advertising should not be placed in the context of the special broadcasts.
So why were the commercial breaks on SF DRS canceled a year ago? Deltenre: "We stopped the advertising at the time - also without discussion - because commercials would have been a disruptive factor in the reporting that would have annoyed viewers. That would also have been problematic for the advertisers."
Accordingly, only the documentary "9-11" will not be interrupted by TV commercials on SF DRS from 8 to 10 pm. It shows dramatic images directly from the rescue work at the World Trade Center, filmed by two Frenchmen who actually wanted to accompany a young firefighter on his daily routine that day.
The other TV marketers are also showing no signs of customer restraint. Sales Manager Corinne Blaser from RMB Switzerland explains that both Sat 1 and the cinema sector are recording a good level of bookings. There are also no plans to stop advertising.
Mehmet U. Inan from IP Multimedia. He has not yet heard anything from agencies or advertising clients about advertising being stopped because of this anniversary. "There could be other, more meaningful gestures than stopping advertising to commemorate the tragic events," Inan is convinced.
"Our magazine is not bursting at the seams anyway"
Print magazines take a different approach. Last year, Schweizer Illustrierte ran over 50 extra pages that were not interrupted by advertisements. "I can well imagine that this year's WTC focus will be similar," says editor-in-chief Marc Walder. The September 17 issue was the best-selling of 2001 with almost double the circulation.
To mark the first anniversary, SI portrays a Swiss family in New York whose father was able to escape from the Twin Towers at the last minute, and prints a retrospective by photographer James Nachtwey, whose pictures were shown exclusively in the magazine in 2001.
Facts also dispenses with advertising in its anniversary reports. The foreign section of the news magazine features a 35-page special, including an interview with former mayor Rudolph Giuliani and an article by American political scientist Francis Fukuyama.
According to editor-in-chief Hannes Britschgi, Facts agreed that no advertisements should be placed within this section. The advertisers were also not interested in such a placement. However, Britschgi does not expect a loss of sales as a result: "Our booking status is not such that the magazine is bursting at the seams."
Business as usual for media agencies
And what do the media specialists say? Is the anniversary of the attacks suitable as an advertising environment, or is silence appropriate? "I wouldn't recommend my clients to stop advertising, nor would I recommend advertising specifically geared towards this day," says Christof Kaufmann from OMD Switzerland. "That is also the attitude I sense from customers." He has never heard a client say: "Out of reverence, we will not communicate with our customers on September 11."
Frank Woday from Universal McCann has also not received any signals from advertisers that this date should be treated more respectfully. He believes that for Europeans, this catastrophe is already quite far away. Consumers have become somewhat numb to the bad news, while advertisers have gone back to business as usual.
Creative advertiser Frank Bodin has nothing to do with the discussion from overseas. "I would never say to my clients: don't advertise on this day," emphasizes the CEO of Euro RSCG. "Advertising is increasingly being portrayed as inappropriate or immoral. That's strange!" Many other commercial activities would continue without hesitation on September 11.
Bodin is against turning this date into a worldwide day of mourning. "But we should force ourselves to remember it," he qualifies. In this country, it should be less about the victims and more about the feeling of powerlessness of the population in the face of the attacks. And about the powerlessness today in the face of the policy with which the USA reacted and wants to react to the attacks.
The CEO wants to contribute to this remembrance himself: "A year ago, after the attacks, we created a small picture that will now be shown on a very large scale and is intended to make people think," he announced to WerbeWoche. It will bear neither Bodin's name nor that of the agency.
The destruction of the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001 was also a disaster for the United States media. They lost revenues of between 300 and 600 million dollars by replacing the planned program with reporting for days on end and dispensing with advertising during this time.
One week from now will be the first anniversary of the attacks. Media and clients are faced with the question of how they should deal with advertising this time. The trade magazine Advertising Age offered some help in deciding: it surveyed 307 Americans. According to the survey, 51 percent of the population are in favor of not advertising on September 11. 34 percent agree with advertising and 15 percent have no opinion. Although another Ad Age survey three weeks later showed the opposite, the media and advertisers in the USA opted for the cautious route. TV stations ABC, Fox, MSNBC and CNN will broadcast special reports throughout the day to mark the anniversary. Fox News Channel will do without advertising altogether, others at least during the most sensitive moments. However, it is noticeable that the stations are shying away from new losses - estimated at 50 to 60 million dollars.
Public service announcements instead of commercials
New York's A&E Television Networks, for example, will not interrupt the broadcast of the memorial events with commercials, but will broadcast programs related to the events of September 11. "Still, it's quite possible we won't have any big national advertisers at all," A&E Vice President Whitney Goig told the New York Times. "A lot of people have told us, 'Move my advertising out of that day, away from the sensitive programs."
According to the New York Times, Coca-Cola, General Motors, Miller Brewing and Nissan, as well as American Airlines and United Airlines, are among the companies that want to do without advertising altogether. Kraft Foods is only advertising in media that does not deal with the anniversary, and Boeing is limiting itself to sponsoring a commemorative concert.
Companies that produce commercials and advertisements on the subject of the attacks are walking a fine line. Last September, beer brewer Anheuser-Busch was generally praised for a TV commercial in which its symbolic animal, a draught horse, bowed down in front of the New York skyline. General Motors, on the other hand, came under fire because the company called on Americans to look ahead and apparently understood this to mean taking out a financial loan to buy a car.
Many places therefore prefer to rely on so-called public service announcements, political messages that do not name the sender or are supported by charitable organizations. Michael Drexler, CEO of Optimedia's US division, believes that this reflects the general attitude of the population. "People feel that you have to respect this day of remembrance and not commercialize it in any way," he told the New York Times.
Swiss TVs see no reason to stop advertising
The anniversary of the attacks also receives a lot of attention in the Swiss media. Here, however, readers and viewers have to put up with advertising. For example on SF DRS, where reports from New York are broadcast days in advance and several special programs are aired on September 11. "We discussed the issue, of course, but we agreed: we advertise as normal," says Ingrid Deltenre, Director of SRG marketer Publisuisse. She sees no contradiction between advertising and the events of September 11: "Thousands die of hunger every day, there is no reason to celebrate a special Memorial Day here." No client has yet asked that their advertising should not be placed in the context of the special broadcasts.
So why were the commercial breaks on SF DRS canceled a year ago? Deltenre: "We stopped the advertising at the time - also without discussion - because commercials would have been a disruptive factor in the reporting that would have annoyed viewers. That would also have been problematic for the advertisers."
Accordingly, only the documentary "9-11" will not be interrupted by TV commercials on SF DRS from 8 to 10 pm. It shows dramatic images directly from the rescue work at the World Trade Center, filmed by two Frenchmen who actually wanted to accompany a young firefighter on his daily routine that day.
The other TV marketers are also showing no signs of customer restraint. Sales Manager Corinne Blaser from RMB Switzerland explains that both Sat 1 and the cinema sector are recording a good level of bookings. There are also no plans to stop advertising.
Mehmet U. Inan from IP Multimedia. He has not yet heard anything from agencies or advertising clients about advertising being stopped because of this anniversary. "There could be other, more meaningful gestures than stopping advertising to commemorate the tragic events," Inan is convinced.
"Our magazine is not bursting at the seams anyway"
Print magazines take a different approach. Last year, Schweizer Illustrierte ran over 50 extra pages that were not interrupted by advertisements. "I can well imagine that this year's WTC focus will be similar," says editor-in-chief Marc Walder. The September 17 issue was the best-selling of 2001 with almost double the circulation.
To mark the first anniversary, SI portrays a Swiss family in New York whose father was able to escape from the Twin Towers at the last minute, and prints a retrospective by photographer James Nachtwey, whose pictures were shown exclusively in the magazine in 2001.
Facts also dispenses with advertising in its anniversary reports. The foreign section of the news magazine features a 35-page special, including an interview with former mayor Rudolph Giuliani and an article by American political scientist Francis Fukuyama.
According to editor-in-chief Hannes Britschgi, Facts agreed that no advertisements should be placed within this section. The advertisers were also not interested in such a placement. However, Britschgi does not expect a loss of sales as a result: "Our booking status is not such that the magazine is bursting at the seams."
Business as usual for media agencies
And what do the media specialists say? Is the anniversary of the attacks suitable as an advertising environment, or is silence appropriate? "I wouldn't recommend my clients to stop advertising, nor would I recommend advertising specifically geared towards this day," says Christof Kaufmann from OMD Switzerland. "That is also the attitude I sense from customers." He has never heard a client say: "Out of reverence, we will not communicate with our customers on September 11."
Frank Woday from Universal McCann has also not received any signals from advertisers that this date should be treated more respectfully. He believes that for Europeans, this catastrophe is already quite far away. Consumers have become somewhat numb to the bad news, while advertisers have gone back to business as usual.
Creative advertiser Frank Bodin has nothing to do with the discussion from overseas. "I would never say to my clients: don't advertise on this day," emphasizes the CEO of Euro RSCG. "Advertising is increasingly being portrayed as inappropriate or immoral. That's strange!" Many other commercial activities would continue without hesitation on September 11.
Bodin is against turning this date into a worldwide day of mourning. "But we should force ourselves to remember it," he qualifies. In this country, it should be less about the victims and more about the feeling of powerlessness of the population in the face of the attacks. And about the powerlessness today in the face of the policy with which the USA reacted and wants to react to the attacks.
The CEO wants to contribute to this remembrance himself: "A year ago, after the attacks, we created a small picture that will now be shown on a very large scale and is intended to make people think," he announced to WerbeWoche. It will bear neither Bodin's name nor that of the agency.
