IT WAS the Facebook post that gripped a nation – well, some of the nation, and only briefly – but it was compelling while it lasted and provoked an extraordinary amount of comment while the charade remained under wraps.
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It was the post by a young French tourist who maintained she’d met the man of her dreams at a pub in Mooloolaba, had “a beautiful night” with him, before returning home to France.
She’d subsequently lost her phone, with this man’s number, and now wished to get in touch with him.
Oh, yes, and she was apparently pregnant – to him.
Of course, social media went off and the morning television shows dined out on her supposed plight, with opinions ranging from “oh, how romantic” to “he should head for the hills”.
Well, yesterday it was revealed it was in fact all a stunt.
All part of an elaborate hoax by a Sunshine Coast business to put “Mooloolaba on the map”.
But, once again social media has been quick to respond, many claiming it’s backfired and the local newspaper maintaining it’s “not the sort of publicity we need”.
On the face of it, it’s hard to see how this will lead to a tourist boom for the beautiful seaside community, many saying it casts entirely the wrong light on the perpetually sunny holiday spot.
For those who hadn’t heard of Mooloolaba previously, well, they have now. That could be seen as publicity in itself in this brave new world of endless marketing opportunities.
This is not the first “advertising” campaign that has disguised itself as an innocent plea for assistance on a popular social media platform.
It then gets picked up as a news story and gains a life of its own – just as its creators had hoped.
The traditional marketing, media and advertising platforms of newspapers, radio and television have been joined by social media – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and the list goes on.
In line with these changes, advertisers and marketers have changed their strategies accordingly.
Where once it was easy to distinguish between advertising and news, now the parameters have blurred.
But, the question has to be asked: how far is too far?
Is it okay to dupe the consumer, or should this new “creative” approach to selling a message be welcomed?
What those in the sales business need to remember perhaps, is that while social media is opening up whole new worlds, it’s also quick to turn and can take down something just as quickly as it raises it up.