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Abc Woolworths

Woolworths receives legal threat for projecting ads onto ABC's headquarters in guerrilla campaign

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By John McCarthy, Opinion Editor

September 3, 2014 | 3 min read

Retailer Woolworths has landed itself in trouble after it posted an ad on the side of the Australian Broadcasting Company’s (ABC) headquarters as part of an ill-advised guerrilla marketing campaign promoting a packet of Doritos.

The ad was projected on Sunday night in Adelaide

The Australian broadcaster has threatened legal action after Woolworths erected the unauthorised ad onto ABC’s headquarters in Adelaide using a van-mounted projector on Sunday night.

Woolworth’s guerrilla marketing, an advertising strategy usually reliant upon graffiti, flyers or viral videos, was unapproved by ABC and was first spotted by the firm after images were uploaded to Twitter.

ABC radio host Michael Smyth tweeted that the broadcaster’s lawyers had sent Woolworths a letter ordering them to cease and desist their campaign on the broadcaster’s property.

A Woolworths spokesman told AdelaideNow: “Woolworths has engaged in a short-term guerrilla advertising campaign to highlight our ‘Show Stopper Specials’.

“Owners and tenants of buildings on which the projections were displayed would not have been aware that they were going to be used.”

The Adelaide City Council confirmed it was not aware of the campaign and that ads of that size require approval - he also expressed concern over the use of third party buildings such as ABC’s headquarters.

Earlier this year, Woolworths, along with Unilever, were under investigation from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for running price-fixing cartels.

Abc Woolworths

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