Paper sorry for 'cosy' ad over Utøya story

Swedish newspaper Sydsvenskan was forced to apologize to readers who were shocked after finding an ad for “Cosy Sundays” straight across the headline of a story on the tragic massacre at Norwegian island Utøya in July last year.

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“It is very unfortunate and regrettable, this should of course not happen,” said Daniel Sandström, editor-in-chief at Sydsvenskan to Sveriges Television (SVT).

The ad, a “post-it”, was placed on the front page of the paper over an article about the beginning of the Norwegian trial against mass-murderer Anders Behring Breivik, which started on Monday in Oslo. This choice of ad placement kicked up a storm on social media sites.

According to Sandström, it was “human error” that caused the advertisement being placed in such an unfortunate spot. However, this was limited to the newspapers distributed in the Malmö area.

“It was great misunderstanding and that’s all I want to say about it really. We are overseeing routines to minimize the possibility of similar mistakes,” Sandström told advertising and media trade paper Dagens Media.

The advertiser, real estate agents HSB, was none too happy about the unfortunate placement of their ad either, according to SVT, and has demanded an explanation from the newspaper.

“It is terribly unfortunate that our welcoming to our "Cosy Sundays" is placed in such deep contrast to that horrific tragedy,” said Åke Johansson, head of information at HSB, to SVT.

The company has asked for the money back that they spend on the advertisement, which they intend to give to charity.

On their website they clarify that the company had no idea that the ad would be posted on top of the article about the massacre.

Sandström told Dagens Media that the majority of the reactions have originated within social media.

“But it doesn’t mean it is less important because it doesn’t blow up as much outside the social media as on the inside. There’s no denying that it was an unfortunate clash,” Sandström told the paper.

The Local/rm
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