"I understand the jest that they support our military, but it just did not … it wasn't professional," Cumberland County resident Carlton Smith said. "Fayetteville's come a long way to get a professional attitude and I think this does nothing but hurt."
The president of the Fayetteville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, John Meroski, was responsible for the video campaign. He said they were supposed depict the city as a "sanctuary for soldiers."
"We got some really interesting quotes coming back, good and bad," Meroski said. "But the message of this being that this community supports the military like no other, is loud and clear."
One video showed a soldier being bothered by a man dressed as a woman, who's suppose to be his girlfriend's girlfriend. When the not too attractive friend tried to interfere with the soldier's date, several Fayetteville residents came his rescue.
"I think it's disrespectful to the military and doesn't really depict a good light on either the city or the military," Fayetteville resident Kathleen Carrol said.
But some people did see the humor in the videos.
"I think it's pretty interesting," Fayetteville resident Sharika McLeod said. "A lot of people though wouldn't see it that way because you know how people are. Everyone's so serious these days and I mean I think it's a good thing for laughs. Kind of lighten the moment right now."
Meroski said he may tweak the videos and put them back out in circulation.
