Sigh. Just… sigh. Why can’t companies just refrain from hitching their apple wagons to tragic stars? Following yesterday’s story about a golf course offering a $9.11 special in honor of 9/11, AT&T is apologizing for using 9/11 memorial imagery to remind everyone on Twitter that it sells cell phones.

“Never forget,” read the now-deleted tweet (captured by this Twitter user), with the image of a hand capturing the New York City skyline and its twin beams of light, shining in honor of those killed in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

Oh and also — use an AT&T phone to take a picture of those memorial beams, the tweet seems to imply, as the device is the prominent part of the photo.

AT&T has apologized once already, but we wouldn’t be surprised if the company issued a longer apology later, one encompassing more than a paltry 140 characters, perhaps:

Plenty of Twitter users aren’t buying the apology, however.

“The way you pay respect is by staying silent. Better luck next year,” writes one response to the tweet.

“And instead you put the focus on a smartphone…not the memorial itself, awesome!” tweeted another.

We’ve said it a bazillion times and we’ll say it again: Stay away from tragic events, marketers. Stay far, far away.

*Thanks for the tip, Steve!

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.