14 DAY TRIAL // “Mad Men” returns to the small screen this month with a brand new season, its fifth so far. To promote it, AMC has put up billboards all over New York of the now-iconic falling man and, in doing so, has stirred up controversy because many believe the image mocks the events of 9/11.
The photo attached to this article shows one such billboard: it shows a man in black and white, tumbling through the sky, represented by a completely white background.
For many, the image of a falling man hits closer to home than AMC probably imagined, in that it brings to mind comparisons to the images of countless people jumping out of the burning twin towers in a desperate bid to escape the flames.
Deborah Burlingame, whose father was the pilot of the plane that crashed into the Pentagon, is one of those people, telling the Daily Mail that the concept for the ad is “cruel and truly tasteless.”
She's not the only one to believe this. Many voices online point out that AMC could have picked the image on purpose, knowing it would generate controversy and, thus, boost interest for the upcoming season of the show.
“I find it impossible to believe that any advertiser could be so stupid as to think you can put up a billboard in New York City which shows a human being tumbling down in space and not imagine that this will evoke the tragic memory of those poor souls on 9/11,” Burlingame says.
“I think this advertiser has decided that creating a controversy, at the expense of the thousands of people who will be hurt by this image of man falling to his certain death, is worth it,” she adds.
In turn, AMC says it did nothing wrong: the image of the falling man has come to be associated with “Mad Men” because it's also featured in the opening credits.
Any resemblance, either real or imagined, isn't intentional, the network says in a statement to E! Online.
“Mad Men's current advertising campaign features the iconic and signature image of a falling man from the series' Emmy Award-winning opening credits. The image of Don Draper tumbling through space has been used since the show began in 2007 to represent a man whose life is in turmoil,” AMC states.
“The image used in the campaign is intended to serve as a metaphor for what is happening in Don Draper's fictional life and in no way references actual events,” the network adds in the same statement.
Below is a teaser for season 5 of “Mad Men,” also featuring the falling man.
