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Viewers who were watching the CNN coverage of the crisis in Ukraine were not prepared for the Applebee's commercial it cut away to.
The network was showing aerial-view footage of Kyiv under a broad attack after Russia invaded on Thursday, and the accompanying live audio of air-raid sirens blaring amplified the tension further.
But then, the segment abruptly gave way to a cheerful Applebee's commercial–with images of frothing beer, greasy fried chicken and a cowboy shaking his derriere towards the camera.
It was a stark contrast to the harrowing visuals shown just moments before.
The aural transition of sirens to the commercial's music–featuring Zac Brown Band's honky tonk crowd-pleaser, “Chicken Fried"–was particularly jarring and ridiculous.
A clip of the moment was destined to go viral.
WW3 sponsored by Applebees. \n\nWe\u2019re living in an episode of South Park.pic.twitter.com/Ex5MTM2krr— NUFF (@NUFF) 1645724891
The blunder was made worse by the ad running on a portion of the screen juxtaposed with the headline: "Russia Invades Ukraine," above a thumbnail image of Kyiv's smoke-filled atmosphere.
like which part of this frame is necessary?pic.twitter.com/WlUlm4ujtN— $lumdog McMillionaire (@$lumdog McMillionaire) 1645747154
Many pointed the blame at the programmers at CNN, rather than Applebee's, for the unfortunate ad placement.
Amateur comedians of Twitter seized on an opportunity for wisecracks.
Applebees is kind of like Russia\u2026each time I eat their food, it always leaves me pootin\u2019 .— Cubicleclown (@Cubicleclown) 1645728538
applebees execs right now https://twitter.com/barstoolWSD/status/1496872249600581635\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/jlVO11g6Qw— D\u0315\u0312\u0342\u1d48a\u0306\u1d43n\u0315\u1db0 T\u030c\u0360\u033e\u033e\u0313\u0350\u0352\u1d57e\u0357\u0311\u0361\u0341\u030b\u0302\u0341\u1d49n\u0305\u1db0t\u1d57l\u0340\u0313\u0358\u1dabe\u0343\u0312\u0302\u031a\u1d49r\u02b3 (@D\u0315\u0312\u0342\u1d48a\u0306\u1d43n\u0315\u1db0 T\u030c\u0360\u033e\u033e\u0313\u0350\u0352\u1d57e\u0357\u0311\u0361\u0341\u030b\u0302\u0341\u1d49n\u0305\u1db0t\u1d57l\u0340\u0313\u0358\u1dabe\u0343\u0312\u0302\u031a\u1d49r\u02b3) 1645725728
I was hoping they\u2019d also say they are sending 2 million chicken wings to American troops at the Poland/Ukraine border.— Theresa Juva-Brown (@Theresa Juva-Brown) 1645740760
Y\u2019all: \u201cThat Applebees ad on CNN is so bad.\u201d\n\nCapitalism: \u201cHold my Corona.\u201dpic.twitter.com/pc5t7iQunq— \ud83d\udc5f (@\ud83d\udc5f) 1645741596
Applebees couldn\u2019t get a Super Bowl commercial, so they took the WW3 CNN slot. Savage.https://twitter.com/nuffsaidny/status/1496904803854663680\u00a0\u2026— Drunk Jill Scott (@Drunk Jill Scott) 1645725517
Becoming harder and harder to tell, these days, if I'm having a stroke and just don't realize it:pic.twitter.com/KBzxzADuAT— UnkeelMan87 (@UnkeelMan87) 1645729305
pic.twitter.com/2SOjtVs34a— zyan (@zyan) 1645727851
One user noted the lyrics in the song "Chicken Fried" made the moment even more cringeworthy.
this is especially funny because this song has a verse that's like "thank god for the troops who died so we can party" https://twitter.com/cjzero/status/1496880192979181573\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/cew072BI2e— Alex Shephard (@Alex Shephard) 1645720580
The popular chain restaurant issued a statement expressing their disappointment in CNN's programming debacle.
“We are deeply concerned about the situation in Ukraine. 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."
"It never should have aired, and we are disappointed in the actions of the network.”
I asked Applebee\u2019s about the now-viral ad that aired on CNN today during the live broadcast of Russia's attack on Ukraine and just got the following statement:pic.twitter.com/q3rxA4cJxN— Marty Swant (@Marty Swant) 1645740206
Applebee's does not do the programming for @CNN \nIt's not their fault.— HokieHoos --VAXXXED (@HokieHoos --VAXXXED) 1645749001
Lol why are you asking Applebees? Ask cnn. They\u2019re the one who gain ad revenue from this AND choose when to air it.— \u039b\u039b\u042f\u04e8\u041f \u0389\u03a3\u042f\u042f\u03a3\u042f\u039b (@\u039b\u039b\u042f\u04e8\u041f \u0389\u03a3\u042f\u042f\u03a3\u042f\u039b) 1645757419
The attack on Ukraine began on Thursday with Russian forces invading the country from three sides by land, air, and sea.
According to UK Chief of Defense Intelligence, Sir Jim Hockenhull, Russia's objective in Ukraine is to "encircle the capital, to secure control of the population and change the regime."
The UN refugee agency said 100,000 Ukrainian refugees have been displaced and thousands have crossed into neighboring countries, mainly Romania and Moldova.