An online store selling kangkong (water spinatch) chips issued an apology after it previously used the 9/11 tragedy to promote its products for a sale.
Cavite-based Mayczi and Klint Online Store on Sunday, September 3 said that it “immediately” removed its advertisement for its “9.11 Super Sale” or September 11 super sale after earning criticisms from Filipinos.
Online user @bashgita of the X (formerly Twitter) platform shared screenshots of the now-deleted post which allegedly reads:
“Sino ang hindi makalimot sa September 11 tragic event na ito sa Amerika?! Bilang pag gunita, we want to offer you 9.11 Super Sale discounts!” the online store said in the now-deleted post.
Its promotional post included a picture of the burning World Trade Center towers in New York City.
X User @bashgita also shared a screenshot in which the online store allegedly attempted to explain the context behind its “9/11 super sale” in response to a question from a Facebook user.
“Dahil ang tema po natin this month is 9.11 at sakto sa 9.9 sale, naka-bargain tayo ng P99 per pack kung [kumpletong] 11 ang purchase. Kasi, meron po tayong 11 total flavors na mag-e-enjoy ka sa sarap!” the online store said.
Some Filipinos were not pleased with how the online store promoted its discounted products, pointing out that there were lives lost during the terrorist attacks.
“Dude, this is so insensitive. The people that died like… What’s wrong with people,” an X user commented.
“I can’t. Sorry. This is not my humor [and] forever will not find this to be a joke. Call me sensitive, but many lives were lost because of this tragedy. I hope those people who find this entertaining [or] funny don’t get to experience this pain [and people] will just make it a joke,” another user wrote.
“Do they really [have] an idea how painful it is to [lose] almost 3,000 lives in a clear blue sky during the morning of September 11th within the span of a day? And they had a gut [about] using that photo too??? How insensitive as f*ck. #NeverForget,” another X user said.
The online store issued an apology after being called out online.
“We Published a Terrible Ad and we immediately [turned] down the post. We are very sorry as we realized it’s not a good marketing at all. THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN DEALT [WITH]. Our Marketing Team has to stop the Ads, and rest assured it is now deleted on our end,” it said in a statement.
“We request everyone to refrain from sharing and reposting it since our collected concern is not to offend any single person related to that tragic event. We want to address that we don’t have any intentions to harm anyone from that content. We don’t make excuses about it, and we admit we made a mistake,” the store added.
The online shop said that it considers the incident a “learning phase” since it is still “new” in the online business and making advertisements.
“We appreciate those who message us and express their honest, true, and hateful feedback. Again, we perfectly understand. Yes! Our decision was poor. Our Marketing was severely offensive. We will not realize that if you guys don’t bring that up [to] our attention. So, we want to thank you,” it added.
The online store said that the social media users taught them a “lesson” and that it is “learning,” adding it will soon grow to a “bigger and better online seller.”
“Kailangan namin ang marami pang feedback at mga taong gaya [niyo] na handang itama ang mali. Dahil ang nais natin ay tamang pagne-negosyo,” the online store continued.
In the comments section of the post, however, a Facebook user continued to call out the shop for its tone to a message he sent them privately.
“You offended many people, yet this was your response to me, though?” the Facebook user said, sharing a screenshot.
Based on the supposed message, the online store called the Facebook user a “boy who can’t understand I’m sorry.”
What is the 9/11?
9/11 refers to the 9/11 attacks that happened in the US on Sept. 11, 2001, when members of Al-Qaeda, an Islamist extremist group, initiated four coordinated terrorist attacks against America.
That morning, two commercial airplanes were hijacked and deliberately crashed against the upper floors of the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center complex in Manhattan.
Reports said the Twin Towers ultimately collapsed because of the damage sustained from the impacts and the resulting fires.
Other hijacked planes attacked the Pentagon, the headquarters of the US Department of Defense.
The attacks killed a total of 2,977 people.
The Twin Towers were the tallest buildings in New York City. It provided nearly ten million square feet of office space for about 35,000 people and 430 companies.
The Al-Queda is an international Islamist extremist terrorist network founded in the late 1980s by Osama bin Laden.