A lookback at selected post 9/11 commercials

I found this video on YouTube where someone posted commercials that aired after 9/11. I have to admit, aside from two, I didn't remember any of them. This was a half hour video and many of them were from the big national stations (NBC, ABC, CBS) and local channels (the user must be from D.C. or at least that's where he got them). These segments consist of the networks offering their condolences, lots of American flags being proudly flown, lit candles, and children singing patriotic songs. There's lots of text with words like "HEALING" and "UNITY" and "STRENGTH." There's one from the Red Cross, the upcoming stories on 60 Minutes and Dateline, and one local station has a couple of stories they're working on. One of them asks, "Could our drinking water be the target of a terrorist attack?" OMG, let's just scare the American people even more! There was also another upcoming news report about how there are "long lines and long waits as local airports begin to reopen." And I'm thinking, you have no idea.  

Okay, I kind of grouped all those together. I'm going to talk individually about some of the commercials that I found the most interesting:

There were a couple commercials that were for New York tourism. One of them was a bunch of Broadway performers (some in their costumes; I immediately recognized the costumes for The Lion King!) singing "New York, New York" in Times Square. I recognized plenty of famous faces: Bernadette Petters, Bebe Neuwirth, Brooke Shields, Harvey Fierstein, Joel Grey, Matthew Broderick, Patti LuPone, and Nathan Lane who provides the narration at the end: "Come to New York and let's go on with the show." 

The other New York tourism commercial is one that I (vaguely) remember. It shows Central Park, Grand Central Station, Broadway, Times Square, the Empire State Building, all the pivotal sites. We see people wearing their "I [heart] NY" t-shirts (Hey, I bought one of those when I visited many years ago! I think it's the law you have to buy one when you visit!) and a bunch of people from all walks of life enthusiastically tell the camera, "I love New York!" Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa come out of their studio and simultaneously say, "We love New York!" A doorman adds, "Now, more than ever." Aww, don't make me cry, NYC doorman! 

The commercial ends with (mayor of NYC at the time) Rudy Giuliani and (governor of New York at the time) George Pataki  standing in Times Square telling the audience to "see New York in it's finest hour" and that "you'll say it too" and they both utter, "I love New York." 

Obviously, the city of New York was impacted greatly by this tragedy, but so was the airline industry, and there was a commercial from both airlines that had planes hijacked by terrorists that day. They're both really different on how they approach their product.

American Airlines shows different images one might associate with an airline: A plane flying in a pretty sun-setting sky! The people on the ground directing the plane with illuminated beacons like they're in The Rock! People happily boarding a plane! A businessman looking satisfied at the electronic board that displays all the flights! People hugging at the airport! People walking through the airport with their luggage! A passenger saluting a pilot as he boards a plane! Everyone just seems so happy and I'm thinking, this is like no airport I've ever been. While all those images are being flashed, an Enya-esque song is playing. To me, it sounds like "Storms in Africa", but it's not. There's no voiceover or actors with speaking lines, but instead we get text on the screen that say things like "We are an airline....We are a way of life....The freedom to come and go anywhere anytime with confidence." The last line of text reads, "We are an airline that is proud to bear the name American." 

The United commercial has a bunch of different people who work for the company (pilots, flight attendants, the people on the ground) giving confessionals to the camera as the piano music from "Rhapsody in Blue" is playing. 

This commercial pretty much confronts the fact that their airline was used in the terrorist attacks. One of the first talking heads is a pilot who says, "We took a blow, but we're gonna get up and we might have gotten knocked to our knees, even, but we're gonna stand up and press on." I was kinda shocked that they took such a direct approach, but I admire them for doing that. Other lines of dialogue include, "This impacts everybody" and "As long as we stick together and stay together, no one can divide us." It ends with "We are United."

Even though I liked both of the airliners' commercials, I liked the United one just a tad more because they had the guts to address the issue head on. 

The only commercial I didn't like was one from Subway. Now that could be because I hate Subway. I think their sandwiches are gross and I refuse to eat there. Give me Jimmy John's or Jersey Mike's or Quiznos any day.

The ad is just a black screen with white text saying how everyone who was affected by the tragedy are in their thoughts and prayers and they want to "extend [their] deepest gratitude to the heroes involved in the rescue effort." It ends with "God Bless America," then the Subway logo appears. 

There's no somber music or even a somber voiceover; it's completely silent. This commercial was just weird. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I didn't like it. Now I knew if they were showing images of their products, then that would not work at all so I understand why they went this way. Then I saw a couple more commercials that have their own tribute to those affected by 9/11 without showing their product and they did it so much better than this boring and bland Subway commercial and I realized I didn't like this commercial because they didn't put any effort in it. 

One of those commercials that did it better was Verizon. It's a black and white commercial of children running around the Statue of Liberty while "The Prayer" plays. I immediately recognized the song because I was familiar with it. It's sung by Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli and is on Celine's Christmas album. The song was originally written for the 1998 animated movie Quest for Camelot which I'm sure has been lost to the sands of time.There's another version sung by Josh Groban and Charlotte Church and that's the one they used.

With lyrics like "Lead us to a place, guide us with your grace, give us faith so we'll be safe", it almost feels like the song was written for a time like this.

I have to admit, I had no idea what the commercial was for and at one point there's a close up of one of the kid's sandals and I was thinking it was an ad for shoes. (No, it wasn't.) 

As the commercial continues, we see close up shots of the Statue of Liberty and close up shots of children all gazing up at wonder at her. One of the lyrics sung is, "A world where pain and sorrow will be ended and every heart that's broken will be mended." They're really going for the heartstrings here. 

It ends with a close up of the torch and the text on screen reads, "in tribute to those we lost, in gratitude to those who served." Then we see the Verizon logo. Is it a little schmaltzy? Perhaps, but I appreciate the facet that they put effort in their commercial with filming footage and choosing a song that fit the mood unlike what Subway did.

The commercial I was the most familiar with was the one with the Budweiser Clydesdales. These horses are so iconic that you already know what the commercial is for and they don't even have to show their product. This one was shown during the 2002 Super Bowl and  it was shown again ten years later. We see the eights horses trotting from their barn through a pasture, snow-covered grounds, and after crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, they come to a clearing with a view of the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty where they stop and bow. It is so simple, yet so effective. I dare you to get through watching this without a dry eye.