On the offensive: Why Virgin Australia gets called a publicity hound
Virgin Australia’s recent ANZAC day blunder is an important warning against using good causes for the sake of it, writes Mehran Nejati in this crossposting from The Conversation.
Parading your patriotism might look like a corporate plan that can’t possibly go wrong. ANZAC Day sporting commemorations by the AFL and NRL, for example, are hugely successful, embraced by veterans groups and the general public alike.
But Virgin Australia’s attempt to get in on the action has proven as much a strategic miscalculation as the Gallipoli campaign.
A week before Remembrance Day the airline announced it would jump aboard a NewsCorp-confected campaign by emulating US airlines that publicly honour military personnel on their flights.
Not sure that the ANZAC day AFL commemoration is a solid win. Many people find the comparison of sporting bravery to actual bravery in war quite offensive.
To be fair, football clubs were hugely affected by war, with some never recovering and having to close their doors due to the amount of young men lost in wartime. For the AFL to commemorate those lost is actually more fitting than this article describes.
For a bit more info, check the WWI section in the wiki article here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_rules_football_during_the_World_Wars
Every part of society gets affected when it loses so many people. What induces the cringe is implying risking minor injury while being generously renumerated to play sport shows “Anzac spirit”.
“proven as much a strategic miscalculation as the Gallipoli campaign”
That is a TERRIBLE comparison to make. Shame for even thinking it.