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Marketing Became Cowardly and Predictable

Boldness Sold More Before Algorithms Dominated Everything

Mary Carter
3 min readDec 29, 2024
The campaign took a clothing-optional approach. ( Supplied: John Gollings )

In 1980, while we hadn’t yet dreamed of Instagram or TikTok, an advertising campaign in Australia was breaking every limit of what was possible — and profitable.

The “Get Wrecked on Keppel” campaign would give your startup’s legal department nightmares. Imagine pitching in a brainstorming meeting: “Let’s photograph semi-nude people, suggest casual romantic encounters, and promote drink-filled parties.” The corporate ethics committee would have a collective meltdown.

But the numbers?

The numbers were extraordinary. A thousand daily visitors. A marketing budget of one million dollars annually — a value that would be worth significantly more today, considering inflation.

The return on investment? Stratospheric.

The conversion rate? Astronomical.

The promotional material was a masterpiece of direct marketing. While today you spend hours optimizing copy for SEO, they wrote without filters: “Bring sunscreen for areas that rarely see the sun.” Suggestions to “strengthen your wrists” before the trip were as explicit as they were effective.

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