New York – In an advertising campaign ahead of the premier of it’s new show, “The Man in the High Castle,” Amazon plastered the New York City subway 42nd street shuttle in Nazi-like symbols and Imperial Japan insignia.
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“High Castle,” which began streaming this week on Amazon Prime, is based on Philip K. Dick’s Hugo Award-winning novel of the same name, an alternate history in which the Axis Powers win World War II after exploding a nuclear device on Washington with Japan and Germany now ruling the United States.
The advertising campaign published by Amazon ahead of the show depicted New York City in full Nazi garb, including the Statue of Liberty performing the Nazi solute. To complete the campaign, Amazon purchased additional advertising space on the New York City Subway, covering the train cars in Nazi-like symbols from top to bottom.
Passengers on the 42nd street shuttle, which runs between Grand Central Station and Times Square, took to Twitter with their complaints suggesting the ad campaign was “creepy” and in poor taste.
Riders criticized the choice saying, “I think draping your subway in Nazi paraphernalia and calling it advertising is a bad decision.”
Others put the blame on the MTA for allowing the advertising campaign to go forward. “An entire train of nazi imagery: totally chill with MTA,” tweeted a traveler.
Users accused both Amazon and the MTA of promoting Nazi ideology and anti-Semitic feelings with the ad campaign.
Amazon has not responded to the complaints.
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It is a great show!
It’s a show against the nazi regime. It’s about what would have happened of the Nazis won. Very well done.
Thanks VIN for bringing awareness to this new show. I will definitely be looking it up & watching it now!
I understand that some may feel that it is in bad taste. Even though these symbols are not copies of the originals but use american colors and symbolism mixed with that of the Axis powers.
But ANTISEMITISM??? Come on! why would you think that it means you? A Nazi symbol is offensive to all, not just Jews. This is another example of jumping down the throat of everyone and immediately accusing them of anti semitism, and when a real case occurs it is swept into the magniloquence of and ignored by the people that are bored with this Shpil.
Importantly, they have a Bavarian Cross where the swastika would be in the Nazi Eagle
Time to boycott AMAZON
Would they dare attempt to air a show depicting how the US would be had the Confederate Army won the Civil War? Were they to then decorate a subway car with racist paraphernalia to advertise their show, can you imagine how intense the reaction would have been?
When I saw it I thought it was being used as a set, I have no problem with that. But as advertisement? This may be one of the biggest screwups of the year. How many people thought this up, designed it, paid for it, approved it and painted it? Were there no adults anywhere in the management?