CNN ran an incredibly poorly-timed commercial Thursday morning.
During coverage of Russia invading Ukraine, CNN was showing air raid sirens going off in Kyiv amid violence across the country, but it wasn’t all negative vibes. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
The channel did a split screen commercial for Applebee’s with the Zac Brown Band song “Chicken Fried” playing and a guy dancing. You can check it out below.
This missile attack is brought to you by Applebees!!
THIS is CNN… pic.twitter.com/JIUIhrQBHh
— ForAmerica (@ForAmerica) February 24, 2022
I don’t want to make a joke out of a very serious situation, but the reason that video is all over Twitter is because it’s truly incredible.
On one part of the screen, air raid sirens are blasting amid a massive invasion being carried out by Russian military forces and on the other side, we have a little Zac Brown Band music promoting a mid-tier restaurant.
If you don’t understand why people are laughing, you simply don’t have a sense of humor.
A friend once yelled the opening lyrics of Smash Mouth’s “All Star” in a movie theater during a silent moment in a dramatic movie as a dare.
This is worse than that moment. pic.twitter.com/d5ltiYAp01
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) February 24, 2022
I don’t want to tell anyone how to run their commercials, but if the network is covering a massive war, it might be a good idea to promote some war films, serious topics and things of that nature.
Applebee’s? That’s the kind of ad you run after recapping a sports segment. It’s not what you run during a war.
Cutting away from air raid sirens in Kyiv for an Applebee’s commercial with a guy in jeans shaking his ass is certainly a choice, @CNN.
What sort of dystopian hell is this? pic.twitter.com/ZtMFRYMCgW
— Adam Spencer (@AdamSpencer4) February 24, 2022
Not a great day for the advertising department and that’s putting it lightly!