There's a fine line between a clever, edgy marketing ploy and one that backfires or is just plain lame.
A big story on news outlets around the world this week was of a young French tourist who had returned to Australia's Sunshine Coast to find the man who got her pregnant the night before she flew home.
She had posted a video of herself talking about their "beautiful night" together and it, as they say, went viral. However many immediately questioned its authenticity, claiming it was a hoax. For what purpose, it was not immediately clear.
Yesterday it was revealed the young woman was an Australian-based actress and the video was a marketing stunt set up by a Sunshine Coast-based social media company to promote the town of Mooloolaba.
If the goal was to get Mooloolaba's name out there, then I guess it was a success. But whether a fake tale of a one night stand will help "put Mooloolaba on the map because it's a wonderful place" - as the company's owner was quoted as saying, is another thing.
