Netizens angered by insensitive ad showing a sinking boat

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On April 11, a commercial for 'Tmon' mobile application titled 'The day for ice cubes are soon approaching' was released.

Upon first glance, the ad seems harmless. However, upon closer inspection, viewers were able to spot a scene showing a tiny ship sinking inside a glass cup filled with ice water.

Seeing this, netizens were furious and complained that it's unacceptable to come up with such an advertisement with Sewol Ferry's third anniversary soon approaching, and also considering the fact that the investigation hasn't been resolved yet.

Comments stated, "I thought it was the Sewol Ferry," "Is this supposed to be an advertisement??" "This is very upsetting," "Even if the ship was posed as the Titanic, many lives were lost in that tragic event too.  It is inappropriate to use such a theme for a commercial."

The ad has also been accused of using the Sewol Ferry incident for noise marketing. To this, 'Tmon' explained, "The advertisement is a 'direct deal' where the seller can directly upload ads."  And added, ''We lacked attention in reviewing. We feel it is unfortunate and deleted the ad immediately as it became controversial."

Image: Insight