The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has condemned a poster bearing its logo that shows dozens of planes pointed towards New York with a 9/11-themed tagline.
Produced as part of a pitch by a Brazilian ad agency and featuring the line 'The Tsunami Killed 100 Times More People Than 9/11', the poster caused outrage in the United States.
The ad also bears the copy 'The planet is brutally powerful. Respect it. Preserve it'.
Designed to draw attention to the need to respect nature, the ad proposal was rejected by the WWF who released a statement criticising it.
"WWF strongly condemns this offensive and tasteless ad and did not authorize its production or publication," the statement read.
"The concept was summarily rejected by the WWF and should never have seen the light of day."
WWF has now begun a process of "aggressively pursuing action to have (its logo) removed" from the ad, which has spread across the internet.
In the poster, which shows planes heading into downtown Manhattan, the twin towers are still clearly visible.
The ad was leaked in the lead-up to the eighth anniversary of the September 11 attacks next week.
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