ICYMI: Here's Why Applebees Was Not Happy with CNN During Their Russia-Ukraine Coverage

Matt Vespa | March 09, 2022 3:05 PM

Well, that 40-mile-long Russian military convoy hasn’t moved for multiple logistical reasons. The Ukrainians are still holding on, and the Russian invasion continues to get bogged down in the mud. The question is how long can Ukraine hold out? Once Russian air superiority is established, it could be a nasty and bloody end to this valiant defensive effort on behalf of the Ukrainians. Blessedly, that hasn’t happened yet. Arms and ammunition from the European Union and the United States are flowing into the country.

Yet, we need to circle back to the first few hours of the invasion. And yes, this is a ‘CNN sucks’ story. Bombs are about to fall. Ukraine braces for a full-blown invasion, and CNN decides to remind us that Applebee’s is the place to eat in the neighborhood. I’m not kidding. I know a lot has happened over the past couple of weeks, and we’re about to have a Supreme Court fight, but we clipped it for posterity. And yes, the food chain also saw the ad placement and was not pleased (via AdAge):

Applebee’s has paused advertising on CNN and the network has removed picture-in-picture advertisements from its coverage of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, following an unfortunate ad transition Thursday, spokespeople from both brands told Ad Age.
The network was criticized on social media hours after Russia invaded Ukraine when it went from broadcasting air raid sirens in Ukraine to showing an upbeat picture-in-picture ad for the casual restaurant chain. At one point, the words “RUSSIA INVADES UKRAINE” from CNN’s coverage appeared next to a man in the ad dancing.
“When we were made aware that our ad was placed in this manner, we immediately reached out to CNN to pause our advertising on their network,” an Applebee’s spokesperson said. “It never should have aired, and we are disappointed in the actions of the network.” The spokesperson added that the brand is “deeply concerned about the situation in Ukraine.”

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