Bell, Boeing apologize for V-22 ad

By BOB COX
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER

Bell Helicopter and Boeing Co. issued apologies Friday after an advertisement for their V-22 Osprey aircraft infuriated a major Islamic group.

The ad in the Sept. 24 issue of National Journal, a political-affairs publication, depicts U.S. special operations troops rappelling out of a CV-22 Osprey built by Bell and Boeing in an assault on a mosque.

"It descends from the heavens. Ironically it unleashes hell," reads the ad's headline.

Bell, Boeing and the National Journal made their apologies after the Council on American-Islamic Relations sent a protest to Bell and Boeing.

Bell spokesman Mike Cox said the ad, developed by the company's agency, TM Advertising in Irving, was supposed to have been pulled by all publications after it ran one other time nearly a month ago.

All those who were supposed to approve the ad content had not, Cox told the Star-Telegram. "The first time the ad ran, we pulled it immediately."

"We took immediate action to cancel any insertions that had been placed and provided explicit instructions for its removal. Despite our directive to the National Journal to replace the ad, it was not replaced as requested, which resulted in its publication this week," Cox said in the company's official statement.

"We recognize that some organizations and individuals may have been offended by its content and regret any concerns this advertisement may have raised. Bell and our partners are evaluating creative processes to prevent this from happening again."

Boeing also issued a statement. "We consider the ad offensive, regret its publication and apologize to those who like us are dismayed with its contents," said Mary Foerster, vice president of communications for Boeing Integrated Defense Systems.

"When the company became aware of the advertisement, we immediately requested that our partner's agency withdraw and destroy all print proofs of the advertisement and replace it with one that was appropriate."

Bell and Boeing jointly build two versions of the V-22 for the Marines and the Air Force.

National Journal said in a statement that it had been instructed to pull the ad and had failed to do so.

Corey Saylor, government affairs director for council, said the group accepted the apologies but still questioned the motives of Bell and Boeing.

"That clearly is a mosque they're assaulting," Saylor said. "The implication there is it's not a war on extremism, it's a war on Islam."

Even before 9-11, Bell, Boeing and military officials have sold the aircraft as a tool for fighting terrorism. The failed 1980 mission to rescue American hostages in Tehran, Iran, is frequently cited as the perfect mission for the V-22.

The advertisement copy reads: "Before you hear it, you see it. By the time you see it it's too late. The CV-22 delivers Special Forces to insertion points never thought possible. It flies faster. It flies farther. It flies quieter. Consider it a gift from above."