Yesterday, ZOO Weekly found themselves in a shitstorm of controversy after slapping a bikini-clad model on the cover of their ANZAC day commemorative issue, the second company in as many weeks to fall afoul of terrible ANZAC branding decisions.
The cover – relatively restrained and tasteful, by ZOO Weekly standards – features model Erin Pash holding a long-stemmed poppy and standing next to a tiny digger. You may or may not have seen him there the first time. We understand.
The issue received a huge number of complaints when it was unveiled, many from the descendants of Australian soldiers angry that ZOO would attempt to cash in on solemn ANZAC commemorations in such a way.
Then there’s the fact that the word ANZAC is protected by federal law, and can not be used for commercial purposes without the permission of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
While the word does not appear anywhere on the cover itself, ZOO promoted the magazine as a special ANZAC commemorative issue on its Facebook page, drawing the ire of the department.
The Facebook post in question was removed overnight, and per reports in Fairfax, the DVA are satisfied that “all offending content” has been removed from the social network.
ZOO have not yet issued a statement on the controversy, and their strategy at this point seems to be quietly pretending it never happened, and hoping we all forget soon.
Earlier this month, Woolies goofed up pretty spectacularly with a misguided piece of ANZAC branding. The Church Of Scientology also found out the hard way that you don’t mess with the DVA when it comes to ANZAC-related matters.
