14 DAY TRIAL // The promotional efforts for the latest Michael Bay action film, the reboot of the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” franchise, has hit a snag. It seems that an unfortunate juxtaposition of a couple of elements reminiscent of the tragic 9/11 attacks has sent fans into a frenzy of critiques over the latest poster.
The “TNMT” movie poster in question was drawn up for the upcoming Australian release of the film, and apparently, someone in the marketing team failed to spot the offending message being unwittingly sent to fans.
The poster featured the four turtles in mid flight, as they jumped from an exploding skyscraper. This in itself wouldn't have caused anyone to bat an eyelid, but, as it happened, it was coupled with the release date of September 11, which made it a poor reference to the 9/11 terrorist attacks that took place in New York.
After fans began to voice their outrage on social media about the unfortunate combination of elements, the media team quickly deleted the incriminating poster from their accounts. Paramount Australia has yet to release a comment about the incident which has left it redfaced.
But even if the poster was taken down in a hurry, fans kept on bashing the studio, and the general consensus was that the joke was in poor taste, that's if it was even a joke. Others pointed out that someone should be fired over the incident for failing to spot the offensive material.
It seems that even in Australia, the 9/11 terrorist attacks are still a touchy subject and any accidental reference to it, be it funny or not, still causes uproar among the population.
Prepare to gasp at the most poorly judged poster and date combo imaginable... pic.twitter.com/I81aSLJIMC
— Luke Whiston (@LukeWhiston) July 29, 2014