Malaysia Airlines has withdrawn an ill-conceived advertising campaign asking Australian and New Zealand residents to send in their “bucket lists”, after facing heavy criticism for the campaign’s reference to death.
The airline, which was involved in two plane tragedies this year that claimed 537 lives, launched the “My Ultimate Bucket List” campaign on Monday. It asked customers to send in their “bucket list” destinations for the chance to win flights to Malaysia as well as iPads.
With the idea of the “bucket list” so inextricably linked to death, in that it refers to the places you want to visit or things you want to do before you die, and given Malaysia Airlines’ tumultuous year, the airline has since rebranded the competition to instead revolve around people’s ultimate “to-do list”.
“Malaysia Airlines has withdrawn the title of a competition running in Australia and New Zealand, as it is found to be inappropriate at this point in time,” a statement released yesterday said. “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.”
According to Fairfax, Malaysia Airlines has been crippled financially this year. Its share prices have plummeted due to near-empty flights, resulting recently in the axing of 6000 jobs. Later this year the airline will de-list from the stock exchange, as it undergoes a government-led restructuring.
