Super Bowl Ad Shocks With 9/11 Footage

A Super Bowl ad promoting the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation included footage of the World Trade Center collapsing after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, drawing ire from many viewers during the Sunday evening game. The ad—which was produced by a Texas-based agency and aired only in New York, Philadelphia, and D.C.—depicted defining moments in U.S. history, played backward, and was narrated by retired NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw, who ended the ad by noting that Williamsburg is where the American legacy began. After viewing the commercial, SNL cast member Taran Killam tweeted, “What’s a bigger tragedy than 9/11? Working at Colonial Williamsburg,” and many others reacted with mockery or dismay.