On April 25, 2016 GEICO Skytypers issued an official statement apologizing for the most recent skytyped messages, which were specifically regarding all the anti-Armenian messages that took place in the East Coast. GEICO Skytypers announced that they did not understand what they were promoting and if they had done more research about the issue, then they would not have accepted the project.
Skytypers stressed that GEICO is a sponsor for the air shows and are in no way involved in the advertising side of the Skytypers organization. In addition, they added that they were only responsible for texts in the East Coast, not the West.
As a result, Skytypers provided a brief background of how they became involved with this project.
Skytypers began making preparations for a number of back to back air shows, and as they quickly completed to group of skytype messages, they asked more detail about the non-English messages. Skytypers did not have much type to do additional research and were assured by a third-party that there were no concerns to the messages.
The day after the typing of the messages, the team arrived in Virginia to conduct media flights. During this time, the team received a call from a reporter inquiring about the messages and due to a series of quick questions, it seemed like there was some concern but the nature was unclear. During the bevy of activity surrounding the air show, the reporter was contacted and during the phone call, a number of accusations were made including the fact that the messages implied harm and bad intend on behalf of the time. The questioning led to additional research done by team owner Larry Arken. According to Skytypers, the peculiarity of the messages was not quickly recognizable. Skytypers had the assurance of the hiring agency that the content had been researched but soon found out otherwise.
“Turkey = Truth Peace” and citing websites seemed harmless and because of being in a rush and the assurance of the hiring agency, Skytypers typed messages that should have never been promoted. Skytypers has had a long practice of not participating in anything political. The team is currently working on a new Ethical Advertising Policy in hopes of never repeating this again. And although GEICO is general a sponsor, they did not have anything to do with the messages typed over NY on April 20.
Various members of the team have been contacted through emails, phone calls, and social media and this has helped us gain a deeper understanding of the events that took place 100 years ago. Skytypers is clearly guilty for what took place and team owner extends his sincere apologies to anyone hurt by the messages. Skytypers will learn from this type of activity and make sure to educate others about it in the future.
