2013 – The year’s greatest gaffes

December 31, 2013 12:00

1. Joy for ARN

When you’re working on a super-secret campaign, it’s important all your staff know they’re not to talk about it in public. And to draw the blinds when you put all the artwork for it on the wall, next to a window, in view of the street. Unfortunately for Sydney agency Joy the super-secret rebrand they were doing for ARN turning Mix106 to Kiis, and launching yet-to-be unveiled stars Kyle and Jackie O, was left on public display, with one passer-by so amused at the lack of confidentiality they felt the need to snap it. Lessons learned I’m sure.

2. Eddie McGuire

It was a great marketing stunt turned political nightmare for one legendary pundit, as TripleM’s breakfast host Eddie McGuire suffered a massive bout of speaking before engaging brain. His, incomprehensible comments about Sydney Swans player Adam Goodes being a perfect ambassador for King Kong The Musical would be crass at the best of times. But coming days after Goodes had been called an “ape” by a teenage Collingwood fan made the whole affair all the more embarrassing.

3. How to spot a paedo

Just how do you spot a paedo? It’s what every parent would like to know. Thankfully News.com.au was able to come up with a handy guide for readers as to what to look out for. “More likely, he is your friendly neighbour or attentive shopkeeper”, warned journalist Candace Sutton, before besmirching “respected community leaders” adding “the paedophile in your midst may be the schoolteacher, the bus driver, the youth worker or the lay preacher at your church”. The next day the site ran a rebuttal from a campaigner, and amended the story to be read as “opinion”.

4. One Green Bean fudges own PR

Most of the time when pitches are decided the brand will send a press release saying lovely things about their former agency, who in return will be gracious about losing the account. But when Ikea’s PR account moved to Mango from One Green Bean (OGB), all hell broke loose. First OGB boss Kat Thomas issued a statement saying they had declined to re-tender for the business, then Ikea counter-issued their own statement saying OGB had re-tendered, but not made it through the first round. Not great PR either way.

5. Ad banned twice

To get your advert banned once is unfortunate, but twice is just plain careless. Whybin\TBWA Melbourne’s ad for the Nissan Pulsar showing a pregnant woman and her partner rushing to hospital, before revealing the woman is wearing a fake baby bump, has this distinction. Firstly the woman urging the driver to go faster raised the ire of the Advertising Standards Bureau, and the second time it was driving too close to another vehicle. Happily, like Goldilocks, the board found version three just right.

6. Jaymes Diaz

This gaffe is so good, it also made our list of top viral videos for 2013. When Liberal Party candidate Jaymes Diaz met Ten reporter John Hill, he was posed the question: “The coalition has six points, could you run through them for us?” Sadly for Diaz, he’d forgotten to read the memo, remembering only the first point, “stop the boats” then stuttering through one other, before his minder stepped in to cut the interview short.

7. Michael Healy versus Roxy Jacenko

When a poison pen email about one of the stars of your reality TV show goes viral, it’s best not to be caught contributing to its spread. But Nine’s head of programming Michael Healy did just that when he forwarded an email with some wild claims about Celebrity Apprentice star and Sweaty Betty PR boss Roxy Jacenko. If anything the rumour-spreading letter, too rich for publication here, probably piqued interest for the ailing show.