By Leila Molana-Allen
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — The agency responsible for creating an advertisement branded an "insult" to 9/11 victims has admitted full responsibility and pulled the ad.
The ad shows Robert Keiley, an FDNY firefighter and part-time model, standing in a firefighter's uniform, clutching an image of the fallen twin towers. Next to the haunted expression on his face, enormous letters read "I was there." The ad is meant to encourage those eligible for 9/11-related health care claims to contact the law firm Worby Groner Edelman & Napoli Bern.
The problem is that Keiley didn't become a firefighter until 2004, and was not present during 9/11, as the New York Post originally reported.
Keiley, the FDNY firefighter and part-time model whose soot-covered face appears in the ad, is now suing the law firm the ad was made for, his lawyer said.
While the law firm has refused to comment, John Barker, president of advertising agency Barker/DZP, who created the ad, apologized in a statement released to DNAinfo.
"At no time did we have any idea — or could we have had any knowledge — that the person in the photo, Robert Keiley, was an actual firefighter, much less a New York City firefighter. This unfortunate coincidence makes the ad into something we never intended it to be," Barker said.
"We hold all firefighters in the highest regard, and believe all New York City firefighters are heroes. While our mistake was entirely inadvertent, we understand why the ad has caused hurt, we regret its use, and we accept responsibility."
Barker also apologized to Keiley as well the FDNY for the mistake.
The ad for the law firm, which has a history of criticism for allegedly taking advantage of 9/11 first responders, was handed out as a flyer during the Police Fire Games Event Gala last week, the New York Post reported. A small note in the bottom left-hand corner of the ad says, "this is an actor portrayal" of someone who might be eligible to enter a claim under the James Zadroga Act, the new federal legislation that provides health care and compensation for workers injured in the 9/11 attacks.
Keiley said he thought he was only posing for a fire prevention ad when he collected $350 for the photo shoot last year.
In addition, he posed while holding a fireman's helmet, and the image of the Twin Towers was Photoshopped into his hands after the fact, Keiley's lawyer Keith Sullivan told DNAinfo.
Sullivan confirmed that he will be filing a lawsuit on behalf of Keiley. "We need to ascertain who doctored the photo, so we can ensure the poster is never used again," he said.
Sullivan stressed that Keiley had only signed a release for the photograph in which he was holding a helmet. "He never signed a release for them to place an image of the nation's most historic and tragic event in his hands," he said.
"Robert does not stand for the commercialisation of 9/11," Sullivan added. "He is outraged that his image has been used for this purpose.
Keiley described his distress to the New York Post. "I had friends who died on 9/11," Keiley told the paper. "How can I look their families in the eye if they see this picture, thinking I'm trying to make money on their [loved ones'] deaths? They'd probably think I'm a scumbag."
The firm Worby Groner Edelman & Napoli Bern has already faced a firestorm of criticism over its handling of the cases of those sickened at Ground Zero, getting blasted by a federal judge for trying to collect a third of the damages allotted to their clients. The firm agreed to reduce its legal fees after the judge in the case excoriated them for their greed.
