Truck stop chains pull Maxims with truck ‘serial killer’ ad, TCA encouraging responses

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Update: Maxim has responded to some of the requests by TCA and ATA. See their response at the bottom of the story.

Serial Killer

Maxim continues to take heat from the trucking industry over an ad featured in its current issue that features a truck with the words ‘Serial Killer’ above it, as both the Truckload Carriers Association and the American Trucking Associations have issued statements calling the depiction of the industry ‘unfair’ and a ‘mischaracterization.’

The ad — which you can read more about in OD blogger Wendy Parker’s post from June 4 — is for a law firm seeking clients who have been involved in crashes. 

ATA has asked Maxim to apologize and has asked for complimentary ad space in its next issue to “provide an advertisement about the industry that serves America.” ATA says it has also written a letter to Maxim and its holdings company and a subsidiary of its holdings company. 

TCA says the ad “not only [depicts] us in a negative light but the stats are wrong and misleading.” 

“The editors and staff of Maxim need to know that we are their family members, their neighbors, their friends,” the statement says. “When we are on the road, we look out for them as we would our own children. And we will not let this mischaracterization go unanswered.” 

TCA is encouraging members of the trucking industry to respond to the ad by contacting Maxim either on its website or on Twitter, @MaximMag, or on Facebook. Its encouraging the use of #NotASerialKiller, too, on both sites. 

“We encourage everyone to take a moment to collect their thoughts and craft a well-reasoned message to Maxim about why this ad was wrong and how the magazine can make things right for the hardworking men and women in our industry,” TCA writes.”

As noted in Wendy’s post, both TravelCenters of American (TA) and Pilot Flying J pulled all issues of the magazine from its shelves, with TA saying in a tweet it “destroyed” them.

Wendy penned her take on the fiasco and its depiction of truckers in her blog Wednesday. Click here to read her post. 

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Maxim’s response: 

TCA says the vice president of Maxim, Gretchen Tibbits, called to apologize for the ad. To remedy the situation, TCA says Maxim has agreed to do the following: 

-Sending an apology to the trucking industry

-Taking the ad out of its digital magazine and replacing it with an ad supplied by TCA, ATA and other industry partners

-Giving the Trucking Moves America Forward group, of which ATA and TCA are both partners, a free ad in the July/August issue of Maxim for a pro-trucking ad 

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