9/11/11 is past us, and I am sure we are all a bit relieved as it is not a joyful day in any means, and it comes with many hurtful memories atop of fears of repeat attacks. When flipping through the great New York Times memorial issue, I paused to reflect on the way brands chose to walk the very delicate line of mixing honest sympathy with a hint of marketing message – all the way to a blunt in-your-face sales message hidden inside the memorial post. Here is a selection of the ones that grabbed my attention the most:

conEdison hit the mark. A beautiful image that speaks a thousand words without adding one single word to the design. Most remarkably though, it shows the power of conEdison’s work, providing NYC with electricity.

Lockheed Martin plays it safe, which is not a bad idea given the context. Kudos for not including a logo, it makes the insertion less of an ad and more of an honest and heartfelt statement.

Beautiful in its simplicity, yet it can be seen as taking a political side, which makes it edgier than at first glance and might evoke emotions past the fine line other brands are willing to walk.

We remember…to set up an appointment. The rock bottom. One of the times were no exposure might have been a better exposure.