Sunbed company slammed for 'absurd' and 'offensive' Anzac tribute
The 'golden glow and a moment of gratitude' didn't seem to last long.
An Australian sunbed company is under fire for their "highly offensive" social media post in an apparent attempt to pay tribute to the ANZACs. However the cheeky message backfired, attracting a flood of furious and confounded replies before being deleted by the company.
Sunbeds Australia shared their Instagram post on Tuesday of a woman tanning inside a collarium, with a caption that proved controversial.
"Honouring our heroes with a golden glow and a moment of gratitude" they said, also including the hashtags 'Lest we forget' and 'Anzac Day'.
'Is this a joke?'
Many angry followers flocked to the comments section to share their thoughts on why the company's seemingly well-meaning post didn't exactly land.
"Whoever came up with this has spent too long under the UV lights..." one person said. "There is a time and a place and this ain't it."
"What a disrespectful and highly offensive caption. I'm disgusted," another said.
"Are you for real?? this is absurd," a third person said.
Yahoo News Australia has reached out to Sunbeds Australia for comment.
Day should not be about 'commercial promotion'
While obvious to most, the company's faux pas stems from the fact it was trying to take advantage of one of the most sensitive days on the Australian calendar, says Sara Quach Thaichon, senior lecturer from the Department of Marketing at Griffith University.
"It's considered inappropriate as it is at odds with the public sentiment about the solemnity of Anzac Day," she told Yahoo News Australia.
"Anzac is always a day of remembrance and should not be associated with commercial promotion. Brands that seek to profit from Anzac Day will experience heavy backlash. A very high profile example was Woolworths with their 'Fresh in our Memories' campaign in 2015." The supermarket giant was forced to pull the campaign at the time after it was branded arrogant and misjudged.
When asked how to approach sensitive days like this tastefully, the marketing expert said "brands should demonstrate their respect, display genuine sentiment, be authentic ... and not think about it as a sales opportunity.
"Virtue signalling only works when it reflects genuine values, truth, long-term commitment, and impact that goes beyond business profitability."
Coming across as opportunistic can do more harm than good, she added. "Marketing messages that are not meaningful to customers and considered insincere will do more to hurt brands and their relationship with customers."
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