Die Hard? Dramatic Nature Canada bird safety ad under fire for reminding people of 9/11

One of Canada’s oldest nature conservation charities, Nature Canada, is being criticized for an image in an ad about saving birds.

The charity, which works on protecting wildlife across the country, posted the ad on their Facebook page on March 1. It addresses the issue of birds flying into buildings and dying with a petition to the government.

The graphic features a rather pensive-looking pigeon peeking from behind a building in flames. Helicopters are flying by, police spotlights are shining through the tower, and a city full of lights shines in the distance.

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“In cities across Canada, 16 to 42 million birds Die Hard from window collisions,” the image reads. “Their only hope for survival… Bird friendly buildings.”

The graphic used is a twist on the poster for the hit 1988 film Die Hard, starring Bruce Willis.

Here’s what the original poster looks like:

20th Century Fox

But if you’re not familiar with the movie or the poster — because, you know, it has been 34 years — the image might remind you of the horrifying 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in Manhattan, which took nearly 3,000 lives and injured some 6,000 people.

Commenters noted that the shadowed panel in the middle of the building made it look like the Twin Towers at first glance.

“Reconsider this design. VERY reminiscent of the Twin Towers,” said Ottawa resident Cindy Nevins under Nature Canada’s sponsored Facebook post.

“I, too, was immediately reminded of 9-11 upon seeing this in my feed,” commented Facebook user Danielle Bourque. “I haven’t seen Die Hard. Swapping the word ‘adventure’ for ‘terror’ doesn’t help. If you want a shocking ad, use a still image of a bird impacting a window. You can’t assume everyone knows Die Hard, but you can assume everyone is familiar with 9-11.”

The Facebook post has been shared nearly 800 times by people passionate about saving birds, as well as those who find the ad to be in poor taste.

“Omg, pull this picture. I don’t even want to read whatever the hell it says because it is so incredibly insensitive and disgusting?” said commenter Melanie Foisy Turcotte. “Whoever approved this image needs to be fired!

The ad is still up, and Nature Canada has not responded to any of the comments on the post so far.

Daily Hive has reached out to Nature Canada and will update this story when they respond.