PR FAIL: Sending LIVE Goldfish in Mail to Promote Adelaide and South Australia

True Story.

Advantage SA, an Australian firm engaged to promote Adelaide and South Australia, MAILED a number of goldfish to various media outlets with the following tagline: “Be the big fish in a small pond and come test the water.” 

As any sane person could predict, at least 55 goldfish died en route.

Karen Raffen, CEO of Advantage SA,  had to step forward and apologise after shit hits the fan.

The PR message was to promote Adelaide and South Australia as attractive places to advertise as the area tend to get overlooked in Australia’s national campaigns, due to its small population size.

Being the “big fish in a small pond” may be cool, but not being the “dead big fish in a small pond”. Publicity message fail. Not to mention the backlash Advantage SA had drawn upon themselves.

What were they thinking?

A card with a photo of a giant goldfish in a small fish bowl would had the same effect, why go to this extent and  draw worldwide flak for this?