Virgin Blue gets it wrong
Virgin Blue has been forced to apologise and dump part of its new ad campaign after offending the citizens of NSW outback town Dubbo. The ad, which appeared in yesterday’s papers , was seen as a backhanded insult to the people of the town and has been pulled.
“There’s no points expiry if you earn or redeem points within any three-year period – so you won’t have to take a holiday in Dubbo if you really wanted to fly to Vanuatu,” the ad said.
National Party MP Duncan Gay immediately responded with anger on behalf of his constituents, claiming they would be offended by the inference from the airlines markerting gurus.
“They sit around in their black skivvies, drinking imported beer and with their ponytails dangling, and don’t think about the harm they’re causing the community,” he said.
“It’s an embarrassment in the Dubbo community and it’s caused anger in the community.
“They don’t need smart arses making these sorts of statements. I’m urging the Dubbo community to boycott Virgin Blue until they apologise,” he added.
Dubbo mayor Allan Smith also called on the airline to apologise.
“It’s inappropriate to bag one of NSW’s and Australia’s best inland tourist destinations,” Mr Smith said.
Virgin Blue was forced to eat humble pie and apologise.
“We didn’t mean to cause offence to Dubbo or the people of Dubbo,” spokeswoman Amanda Bolger said.
“It was intended to be tongue in cheek. We certainly didn’t intend to cause offence and we’re very sorry.”
Graham Muldoon
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