The WWF denies any connection to or knowledge of a ‘tasteless’ 9/11 ad that bears its logo. The ad shows a squadron of planes about to attack Manhattan, an obvious reminder of the 9/11 explosive tragedy. The ad bears the copy: “The tsunami killed 100 times more people than 9/11. The planet is brutally powerful. Respect it. Preserve it.” It is a heady mix of visually mnemonic political reminder and a powerful environmental statement.

However, the WWF states that it never authorized the ad. The group said it quickly rejected it last year when it was a spec study submitted by an ad agency in Brazil. Being a ‘tasteless’ ad, the organization declared that it was ‘not something that anyone in our organization would ever have signed off on.’ Hence, WWF considered the creation dead and trashed.

The spec resurrected as a full blown ad after ‘someone submitted it to a competition.’ What’s more, the ad has gone viral and even won an award for public service for its creator, DDB Brazil agency.

No matter how popular the ad has become, the WWF does not want to have anything to do with it. As stressed in a World Wildlife Fund statement, “The concept was summarily rejected by W.W.F. and should never have seen the light of day. It is an unauthorized use of our logo and we are aggressively pursuing action to have it removed from Web sites.”

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Via Los Angeles Times