Jetstars ongoing "North Palmerston" gag has lost its appeal, says Katie Holland.
Jetstars ongoing "North Palmerston" gag has lost its appeal, says Katie Holland.
There's a fine line between a clever, edgy marketing ploy and one that backfires or is just plain lame.
A big story on news outlets around the world this week was of a young French tourist who had returned to Australia's Sunshine Coast to find the man who got herpregnant the night before she flew home.
She had posted a video of herself talking about their "beautiful night" together and it, as they say, went viral. However many immediately questioned its authenticity, claiming it was a hoax. For what purpose, it was not immediately clear.
Yesterday it was revealed the young woman was an Australian-based actress and the video was a marketing stunt set up by a Sunshine Coast-based social media company to promote the town of Mooloolaba.
If the goal was to get Mooloolaba's name out there, then I guess it was a success. But whether a fake tale of a one night stand will help "put Mooloolaba on the map because it's a wonderful place" - as the company's owner was quoted as saying, is another thing.
And is it just me who's finding Jetstar's ongoing North Palmerston gag more irritating than funny?
The day it announced Nelson, New Plymouth, Napier and North Palmerston as the new routes, there were scathing comments online- with many suggesting the company should at least get the name of its latest destination right.
Subsequent advertising has made it clear it was all a gag, to tie in with the N theme.
