By: E&P Staff Last week, military veterans and a Texas newspaper complained when pictures of the vets were used without permission in a prominent TV commercial for Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.). Now the commercial's creator has resigned and the Kerry presidential campaign has pulled the commercial off the air, fearing it may violate copyright laws.
A Kerry campaign spokesman said the campaign was sorry it offended veterans and the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, according to a story in that newspaper this morning. "The campaign still is in the process of finding contact information for disappointed family members in order to apologize," the Caller-Times reported.
The newspaper had objected that many of the photos in the Kerry ad appeared to be taken from the Caller-Times book "South Texas Heroes."
South Texas veterans and family members said they were not asked for permission to use the photos.
In the aftermath, Armando Gutierrez of A. Gutierrez & Associates Inc., which made the commercial for the campaign, has resigned. Gutierrez apologized to the families and the veterans in a newspaper ad that was printed on Friday.
The Kerry commercial first aired May 28 and was scheduled to be used for about two weeks. It targeted Hispanic voters in six states.
Caller-Times President and Publisher Larry L. Rose said in his newspaper that he was pleased the Kerry campaign pulled the ad.
"This is a happy ending," Rose said. "The Kerry campaign's decision honors Hispanic veterans and their families. If our news articles aided or comforted even one veteran or one family, our persistence was worth it. South Texas heroes, our local veterans, needed to receive the respect they deserve."
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