Gilbert: 'We screwed up' on controversial Detroit display ad
By Associated Press
Jul 24, 2017 10:55 AM CDT

DETROIT (AP) — A billionaire businessman has apologized for his real estate company's controversial sign in downtown Detroit that says "See Detroit Like We Do" with an image of a majority white crowd.

Quicken Loans Founder and Cleveland Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert posted on Facebook Sunday, saying the ad was "tone deaf" and his Bedrock company "screwed up badly."

The ad posted on a residential high-rise during the weekend of the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Detroit riots resulted in social media uproar. The campaign's photograph contradicted 2010 U.S. Census data indicating the city is more than 82 percent black.

Gilbert says the display posted Friday was only part of the final ad, but still distorted the company's message. He says the image was removed Saturday and the campaign has been "killed."