American flag edited out of commercial leaves Otto president 'appalled'

Tom Roeser was proud when his Carpentersville business was first asked to be part of a global biopharmaceutical company's advertising campaign.

The Otto Engineering buildings along the Fox River were chosen to be featured in a Bristol-Myers Squibb commercial for Opdivo — a new FDA-approved medication that could help treat lung cancer — that first aired in September.

But while watching the commercial about a week ago, Roeser noticed something missing: the American flag that flies over the Otto building.

Carrie Fernandez, a Bristol-Myers spokeswoman, said the flag had been edited out of the shot because federal law prohibits the use of an American flag in advertisements.

Roeser, however, said it was “political correctness gone awry. ... I was appalled.”

Roeser's father started Otto Engineering, which specializes in control panels and switches, out of the basement of his home, and it has since grown to have 500 employees and an annual revenue of about $100 million.

“When you think about Otto, it really is the embodiment of the American dream,” Roeser said — a point he was sure to include in an Oct. 19 email to Bristol-Myers.

In that correspondence, he also noted the importance of the American flag to his employees and the neighborhood.

In an email response the following day, Bristol-Myers representatives sent him specific language from the U.S. flag code: “The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever.”

Roeser called this a “shallow excuse,” saying he did not believe the statute applied in this case because the flag would have only been used in the background of the shot.

“It is obvious that you are using this as a convenient defense for a poor decision,” he said in a follow-up email to Bristol-Myers on Oct. 21. He did not receive a response, he said.

Fernandez did not respond to inquiries about the company's normal policy or practice regarding using the American flag in advertisements. She also did not comment on whether the company will address the issue any further.

Roeser signed a contract allowing Bristol-Myers to use Otto in the commercial about two months ago, he said. Though he didn't charge the company to use his building in an advertisement, he said, representatives made a $1,000 donation to the Boys and Girls Club of Dundee Township, an organization in which Roeser is heavily involved.

Now, he said, he is looking for Bristol-Myers to apologize for the “misuse of our buildings that we love.”

“America is an exceptional country,” Roeser said. “We need to be proud of who we are.”