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Co-Opting September 11 to Sell Gadgets
By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 4, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 4, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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Last week, it became clear that MP3 manufacturer BenQ used an arresting image of a disaffected youth wearing its Dog Tag MP3 player for its Chinese site, with the tagline "Even if the world is destroyed to dust, I still believe in music." Oddly enough, the dust the youth is standing in front of are the World Trade Center ruins! That kid can still believe in music, but he also still have the toxic 9/11 illness!
Even though the Dog Tag site has been taken down, Accordion Guy offers some alternatives that would probably be offensive to Chinese audiences. While we can't say that the World Trade Center or September 11 is off-limits for crass commercialization, we will say that it's currently more tolerable for it to be ill-used as a political example.
Tagged
9/11
Accordion Guy
alert
chinese
gadgets
media
mp3
Music
News: NYC
september 11
Trade Center
world trade center
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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