Billboard in Times Square leaves onlookers stunned

There’s clever marketing and then there is the type of marketing that leaves you asking ‘What the…?’ A giant billboard in New York City’s Times Square has onlookers doing the latter.

Features the Statue of Liberty giving a Nazi salute, the billboard is supposedly advertising the second season of a series called The Man in the High Castle, which gives viewers an alternate history of North America — what life might have been like if the Nazis had won the war.

Statue Of Liberty Gives Nazi Salute In Huge Times Square Billboard For Amazon's 'The Man In The High Castle' https://t.co/OS7uS7QLM6 pic.twitter.com/YGhvpfENP2

— Gothamist (@Gothamist) December 5, 2016

It’s not the first time the series has stunned. The promotion for its first series featured train carriages on the subway in Manhattan plastered with Nazi-inspired imagery.

Back then the New York governor Andrew Cuomo called for Amazon to pull the ads after public outrage.

It’s left some onlookers feeling uneasy about the advertising, especially after the recent United States election where an increase in hate crimes and swastika graffiti was reported.

Social media has come to life as discussion about the promotion increases.

Disturbing: A new billboard for 'Man in the High Castle' shows the Statue of Liberty giving Nazi salute https://t.co/WNviHtWPam

— Anne (@annekbrooks) December 6, 2016

A month ago this was just a TV ad. Today, I can't help but have a more queasy feeling seeing this. #themaninthehighcastle #election2016 pic.twitter.com/W9cfjZlRHj

— Lawrence Neals (@LNealsNYC) December 4, 2016

With more than 300,000 people passing through the square each day it’s sure to attract a lot of attention.

Is this outrageous marketing or in poor taste? Share your thoughts with us.