Should you advertise on 9/11?

I was 24 on September 11, 2001.

I remember the exact moment we heard about the first plane. I remember what I was wearing. I was carpooling with my mom to my internship at an ad agency in downtown Minneapolis. About 2 hours after I got there, we were evacuated because we were in a financial building. 

Almost 20 years later, I still remember. I still pause. I’m conscious of anything I do on social media. 

As a business owner, and former advertising veteran, I am always aware of this day. 

And let me be clear, I still observe how businesses conduct themselves. Who sends an email remembering. Who treats today like any other day. If you think this doesn’t matter, I think you’re wrong.

This year, I faced a conundrum. I’m part of a challenge, where every day I show up for my audience; provide value, and ask something of them - it could be promoting my services or a softer CTA. For the past week, I’ve been wondering what to do, and today, this is how I choose to show up.

The value I choose to give is this: if your audience is anyone Gen X or older, ask yourself if it should really be business as usual. Is the anniversary of one of the greatest attacks on American soil, the day to sell your shit? Is it worth the risk to alienate your audience? Only you can answer that. 

But I will tell you this: there are people who notice these things. People who will unsubscribe from your emails because they think it’s in poor taste that you don’t remember what today is. And they aren’t just former ad people. 

I can’t in good conscience “ask” anything today. But if this resonates with you, I’d take a like or comment below. 

Photo by Brian Kyed on Unsplash