Colonial Williamsburg Draws Ire For 9/11 Footage In Super Bowl Ad

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Super Bowl commercial intended to promote tourism to Colonial Williamsburg has drawn the ire of some New Yorkers.

The ad is narrated by news anchor Tom Brokaw and shows several moments in American history in reverse, including the fiery collapse of the Twin Towers.

"You're watching the Super Bowl to enjoy the game and then boom, they show the towers," said Jim Riches, who lost his firefighter son on 9/11. "It rehashes everything all over again."

He called the use of the footage from the terrorist attack tasteless.

"I saw the ad and I said, 'I can't believe they just did that,'" Riches told WCBS 880's Marla Diamond. "To see it on TV in the middle of the Super Bowl just reopens the wound...they owe the families an apology."

Riches said it was a painful reminder that was unnecessary.

"Three-thousand people died that day, it's not a joke, I mean show the Statue of Liberty or the skyline or something else," Riches said.

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation said its ad is meant to walk viewers on a reverse path through history, Diamond reported.

The foundation said it received an outpouring of support for the ad when it was released on social media before the big game, adding it will not shy away from difficult moments in history.

But the reaction on Twitter wasn't as positive after the commercial aired during the Super Bowl.

The ad aired only in New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. right after the halftime performance.