What were they thinking? Miracle Mattress in San Antonio, TX, produced a commercial advertising twin mattress prices for 9/11. At the end of the ad, two employees fall into "towers" of mattresses, and the lead actor says, "We'll never forget."

Understandably, people were outraged. This reminds me of the golf club that used a similar promotion in 2013. Also, this year, Coca-Cola took down a display of soda cartons at a Florida Walmart.

The company owner posted an apology and announced the store's closing on Facebook. He said elsewhere that he was unaware of the ad created by his employees.

Discussion Starters:

• How are these promotions different from, for example, Memorial Day sales?
• Assess the owner's apology. What principles of persuasion does he use? What recommendations do you have for improving the message?
• In this post, the owner didn't mention that he was unaware of the ad, as he did in other sources. What's your view of this choice?