An ad by the Chicago Tribune to draw in more subscribers for its newspaper drew anger, outrage and ire after viewers reminded the U.S. flag should not be used as a marketing and sales tool – and it most certainly should not be displayed in backward form, with the stars to the right.
The ad from the nation’s sixth largest circulating newspaper, and posted on its Facebook page, offered a 50 percent discount to new subscribers, with a headline that tantalized: “Want to save on a subscription? Check out our Memorial Day Sale.”
But its use of the American flag, and its depiction of the U.S. flag in a backward mode, with the stars on the right not left, angered many.
As the Blaze found, one social media poster blasted:Â “Sad, using Memorial day for their commercial. Un-American idiots.”
Another wrote: “Why is the American flag backwards in your ad? Obviously a pic of a flag flying, but when printed the union should be in the upper left.”
Check out the latest patriotic memorabilia at the WND Superstore
Another said similarly: “When in print the Flags’ stars are to be in the upper left. It is disrespectful in print for it to appear backwards as in this Chicago Tribune ad.”
Still others decried the use of the flag alone to sell a product.
What do YOU think? What does Memorial Day mean to you? Sound off in today’s WND poll.
“According to the Flag Code,” another wrote, “the flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever.”
