Failed PR: Malaysia Airlines renames ‘bucket list’ offer Campaign after being slammed by critics
There are better ways to rebrand an airline.
On the heels of two catastrophic disasters, Malaysia Airlines launched a contest called “My Ultimate Bucket List”.
Time magazine was the first to point out that the term ‘bucket list’ is typically used to refer to a list of things someone should do before they die, making it a poor choice of words for an airline that recently lost all of the passengers on flights MH17 and MH370.
The contest also comes after the airline announced that it was cutting nearly 30 per cent of its workforce as part of a restructuring plan to receive a bailout from the Malaysian government according to the New York Times.
The contest, open only to customers from Australia and New Zealand, asks entrants to submit 500 words on where they want to accomplish something on their bucket list. The prizes included a free economy class ticket to a destination in Malaysia and a free iPad.
The struggling airline says it did not intend to cause offence with name of ticket promotion after it is accused of poor taste Malaysia Airlines renamed the ticket competition ‘Win an iPad or Malaysia Airlines flight to Malaysia’. Photograph: Lai Seng Sin/AP
Malaysia Airlines has thus changed the name of the ticket-sale promotion that invoked an “inappropriate” death reference by asking travellers which places were on their “bucket list”.
The airline had offered prizes, including free round-trip flights to Malaysia from Australia and New Zealand, in a contest called “My Ultimate Bucket List”, despite 537 people being killed in two air accidents involving the airline this year.
A bucket list refers to things someone wants to do before dying, or “kicking the bucket”.
“Malaysia Airlines has withdrawn the title of a competition running in Australia and New Zealand, as it is found to be inappropriate at this point in time,” a statement by the airline said on Wednesday.
“The competition had been earlier approved as it was themed around a common phrase used in both countries. The airline appreciates and respects the sentiments of the public and in no way did it intend to offend any parties.”
The contest was renamed “Win an iPad or Malaysia Airlines flight to Malaysia”, the carrier said. The airline had faced accusations that the original competition title was in poor taste.
Customers who booked travel between 1 September and 31 December were asked to tell the airline which destinations were on their bucket list. The most creative answers were to go into a draw to win 12 round-trip economy-class tickets.
The carrier is scrambling to attract bookings, which have further slumped because of its two disasters.
MH370 vanished on 8 March with 239 passengers and crew aboard, inexplicably diverting from its course between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing. The Malaysian government believes it went down in the Indian Ocean, but no trace has been found.
MH17 went down on 17 July – believed to have been hit by a surface-to-air missile – in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 on board.
Even before the disasters, Malaysia Airlines had lost huge sums of money for years as it failed to rise to increasing industry competition.
It said last week it would cut 6,000 jobs and scale back its route network.
Courtesy Yahoo7, The Guardian UK.