Using Punk Rock to Sell Phones Backfires

I don't know about you, but the first thing I think of when someone says flexible mobile tariff, is PUNK ROCK. Nothing beats buying a new handset for pure rebel cool.

Bell Canada knows where it's at, so when they had a new airtime package to flog, they went straight for the stock photograph of a punk, and shoved it on a poster. Bish-bosh, jobs a good un.

Once the posters were blown up to full size, and plastered all over the public transport systems in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Toronto, it became apparent that the punk girl in the picture was wearing a Belsen was a Gas badge. Now, Toronto has a sizable Jewish community, including many Holocaust survivors who left Europe after the war, so needless to say this didn't go down to well.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any good pictures of it, but there's a video available here. I guess it goes to show, that sometimes you need to step back and ask yourself: "Is my product or service really punk rock?", because sometimes - just maybe - the answer might be "no".