Walmart’s 9/11 Coke can display causes social media furor
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PANAMA CITY BEACH, Florida — A Walmart store’s display of Coke cans stacked to look like the World Trade Center’s twin towers was removed after a social media uproar.
The store put up a display that used Coke and Sprite boxes to create an American flag backdrop. In front of it, Coke Zero packages were stacked to resemble the towers. A banner above read, “We will never forget.”
A photo of the display was posted on Twitter earlier this week and it quickly drew condemnation from social media users.
Wal-Mart said in a statement the display was removed Wednesday.
“We hold this moment in our country’s history in the highest regard, and there was nothing disrespectful intended by the display,” it said.
The company said the design for the display for the store came from the supplier and was approved by its store management.
The Coca-Cola bottler for the region said the display was meant to honor local firefighters and support an upcoming event for their organization.
“We sincerely apologize that anyone was offended or misunderstood its intent, and we have replaced the display,” the bottler said.