Local Business Responds to Linwood Man's Facebook Post

A local car business has responded to a Linwood man's Facebook post and decided to pull its television and online commercial.

Yesterday, Ted Khoury of Linwood - one of the truly nicest guys you'll ever meet - posted on Facebook an open letter to the management of Boardwalk Honda, pointing out that a recent television commercial rubbed he and others the wrong way. The commercial featured several members of a local high school basketball team all squeezing into a car. The idea was to show the roominess of the vehicle. Khoury, who lost a son in a traffic accident that claimed four members of the Mainland High School Football Team a few years ago, said the commercial missed the mark: " At a time when we're all hopefully doing our best to educate the parents, students, and young drivers on our area, this ad simply flies against the grain of sensibility, in my opinion. To use a high school team was probably not the most sensitive idea from the beginning, and I know that you're not showing them driving around town, but the reality is that it doesn't really matter how many players can fit in the car if you don't have enough seatbelts, and although I haven't been in a CRV yet, I'm pretty sure it doesn't have 15 so what's really the point?"

Promptly, the management of Boardwalk Honda responded, deciding to pull the spots from television and the internet. Brian Broomell, General Manager of Boardwalk Honda - also, truly, a nice guy - is quoted on Facebook as saying, "Everyone at Boardwalk Honda apologizes for the implications of this commercial. Our intentions were to highlight the vehicle’s size, but we understand how it relates to the tragedy. We can assure you it was not our intention and we apologize for this mistake."

Sincerest kudos to everyone involved for handling this issue in such a timely, efficient manner. It's a great thing when a community can live together, work and play together, in a manner that benefits everyone.

(Why aren't these two guys running for office? Both would get my vote!)

Today, as always, I am very proud to call this area my home. We have some great friends and neighbors. South Jersey rocks!