‘Home and Away should be ashamed of themselves.’
Fans of Home and Away are split on the contentious marketing campaign for the program, which aims to locate a lost character in time for its 2024 comeback.
The “Bring Eden Home” campaign, which was started in response to the season’s cliffhanger, is focused on Cash’s efforts to find his fiancée Eden, who was abducted and left for dead in a wilderness.
Channel Seven has issued dramatic on-air promos, posted missing person posters on social media, and established an 1800 line where viewers can hear Eden’s last phone call in an effort to keep fans interested while the show is on break.
Some fans find the phone number to be a “epic” idea, calling the dramatic plot interactive, but others find the ad offensive.
A regular viewer informed Yahoo Lifestyle that they find the missing person advertising that is now showing on Seven to be “disrespectful” and that they “can’t stand.”
One long-time viewer told Yahoo Lifestyle they “can’t stand” the missing person advertisement that is currently airing on Seven because they believe it’s “disrespectful”.
“It is disgusting and dismissive of anyone who is living through this in real life,” they said. “Home and Away should be ashamed of themselves. Absolutely disgusting. I can’t understand how this ad was even allowed to be televised by the media.
“Put yourself in the position of someone who is every day seven days a week 24 hours a day hoping to hear news about a loved one. Gross.”
Others have agreed on social media that the campaign is “ridiculous” and “a tad insensitive” to those missing loved ones in real life.
The advertising has been a huge success for the long-running soap opera despite the criticism. In less than a week, the 1800 number received around 66,000 calls, with over 28,000 of those calls coming in the first day.
Larissa Ozard, Director of Marketing for Brand, Product, and Trade at Seven, stated, “We’re thrilled with the engagement and impact this campaign has driven so far and excited to spearhead an immersive, out-of-the-box creative campaign for Home and Away.”
“Marni Crutchley and team, who were able to deliver a campaign to get the nation talking while sweating earned and owned channels, deserve a great deal of credit for their outstanding creative work and Nina Kendall’s execution.”
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