Woolies slammed for ‘Brandzac’ tribute

A WEBSITE launched by Woolworths to commemorate the Anzac centenary has been shut down after social media users slammed it as distasteful.

Woolies shamed into axing Anzac site

A WEBSITE launched by Woolworths to commemorate the Anzac centenary has been shut down after being slammed by social media users as distasteful and labelled “Brandzac”.

The company came under fire for its social media posts which carried the slogan “Fresh in Our Memories” along with a Woolworths logo emblazoned over photographs of dead ANZAC soldiers.

The Fresh in Our Memories website has been taken down this evening. The site was developed to give our staff and...

Posted by Woolworths on Tuesday, 14 April 2015

Its campaign website lasted just a few hours before it was shut down tonight in the wake of a public backlash.

Users could upload their own photographs of war hero relatives and a computer generator would add the “fresh” tag line, a spin off to the supermarket’s slogan “The Fresh Food People”.

Woolworths took to Facebook tonight to confirm the site had been taken down.

But it was too late and Twitter was unforgiving. Not only were people slamming the idea, they were creating their own memes to further shame the supermarket chain.

Veterans’ Affairs Minister Michael Ronaldson weighed in this morning, saying Woolies would not have been given permission for the advertising had it been sought.

“While I acknowledge that Woolworths moved quickly to address the situation, I hope this is a reminder to others that the regulations are in place for good reason and that they will be rigorously enforced,” Senator Ronaldson said in a statement.

The Minister said he had become aware of the advertising late yesterday. Under the Protection of Word ANZAC Act 1920, permission for the use of the word ‘ANZAC’ in any such material must be granted by the Australian Government.

#freshinourmemories #brandzacday pic.twitter.com/HpLICzxDMh

— Casssssssssssss (@thiscassgirl) April 14, 2015

#FreshInOurMemories pic.twitter.com/62chraAQTL

— Alistair Hogg (@alistairjhogg) April 14, 2015

One meme deserves another #freshinourmemories pic.twitter.com/prt7AzZjwt

— Ashadi Hopper (@ashadihopper) April 14, 2015

#freshinourmemories pic.twitter.com/LvGDP33xBi

— Dr Yobbo (@DrYobbo) April 14, 2015

Hey @woolworths, this marketing campaign is crass. http://t.co/vNd5DpPWsn pic.twitter.com/roOBk5IbBg

— Matt Burke (@matttburke) April 14, 2015

I find @Woolworths Anzac Day advertising/slogans to be insulting to Australian Diggers. pic.twitter.com/QDBd7ZIgGY

— Daniel Eade (@DanielEade) April 14, 2015

Social media users slammed the campaign, which features images of Diggers covered with the Woolworths logo, as tacky and cynical.

Visitors to the site were invited to create their own Anzac profile picture for Facebook, which came complete with the Woolies logo.