2024’s Biggest Balls-Ups

Let’s not beat around the bush: 2024 has been a very trying year for much of the industry. Budgets are down, audiences are disappearing and, all the while, everyone’s expecting to keep on growing—no one understands or empathises more than the B&T newsroom.

However, there have also been some spectacular and avoidable own goals in 2024. Consider this list, presented in no particular order, as a cautionary tale for the year ahead.

CommBank’s $3 charge

Just a few weeks ago, CommBank embroiled itself in an entirely avoidable PR failure.

During a cost of living crisis, the bank announced that customers with a Complete Access account will be automatically moved to Smart Access accounts from 6 January 2025.

However, the Smart Access account includes an “assisted withdrawal fee”. That means customers get charged $3 every time they take out their cash from bank branches, post offices or over the phone. The bank said the withdrawal fee would be waived if the customer was under 18, had an age, service or disability pension or a disability that required them to use a branch.

But the damage was done. Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones said it was the “worst Christmas present imaginable”.

He asked the bank to rethink its “terrible decision”, adding: “This seems to me to be a tax on Australians who demand the right to use their cash and the government won’t stand for it.

“If they want to go in and see their bank branch, Australians should have access to banking services wherever they live.”

Finance Sector Union national secretary Julia Angrisano said the introduction of a withdrawal fee was “all about increasing their profit”.

“In a cost-of-living crisis, every cent counts and $3 is a significant hit, especially for customers on low incomes, pensions and benefits,” she said.

“It is an unnecessary and greedy grab from a bank that’s making plenty while also cutting costs. Australians, whether they’re customers or staff, are getting screwed by the big banks, who are making plenty of profit at the expense of their customers, communities and staff.”

Angrisano has a point. In FY24, CommBank booked a profit of $9.5 billion.

Within 24 hours, CommBank rowed back on the decision. Angus Sullivan, the bank’s head of retail banking services, said that for the estimated 100,000 customers who would have been worse off due to the change, it will not come into place for at least six months.

“Those we expect might be slightly worse off and need more support in making sure their banking arrangements are appropriate, we’re going to pause the changes we announced,” Sullivan said.

“We’re going to spend the next six months individually engaging with those customers to make sure we have a solution tabled for each one of them rather than a simple migration across to a Smart Access account.”

Sullivan conceded the bank had done a “poor job of communicating this change to our customers”.

All that for three bucks!

Sneesby’s torch relay during staff strikes

In what hasn’t been the greatest year for the Nine Network, its coverage of the Paris Olympics and Paralympics was as close to an unmitigated success as one could reasonably expect. Save, in large part, to one man in his activewear.

Mike Sneesby, then Nine’s CEO, was invited to carry the Olympic Torch for a short stretch of its run to the Opening Ceremony on behalf of the “thousands” who had worked hard to deliver the Games to an expectant audience back home.

The problem, however, was that 500 staff from of Sneesby’s newsrooms were on strike, demanding better pay following bruising rounds of redundancies earlier in the year. The optics weren’t great and Sneesby’s position wasn’t helped by shots of the luxey pad he and other Nine bosses were staying at the time.

Sneesby told the Sydney Morning Herald, owned by Nine, that his torch carrying was a commitment he had made on invitation from the IOC almost 12 months ago and was par for the course for a media bosses at the outset of a new rights deal.

He also said he’d been engaged daily with the negotiations which were led by “the right leader”, publishing boss Tory Maguire.

“I certainly did not know that that would coincide with the industrial action that was taking place,” Sneesby said.

“Certainly, to do the right thing in terms of those commitments to the IOC [and] to represent the thousands of people across Nine who had put in so much hard work was certainly the right thing to do.

“I’m certainly grateful for everyone who contributed [to the negotiation] process, and I’m also glad that we reached an outcome that is positive for all stakeholders.

“As much as I wasn’t the public face of those negotiations, I was very much engaged, very much focused on getting the right outcomes for those people who are represented by the union, as I am always. As a chief executive, looking after the interest of our staff whether they’re part of a union or not.”

While the Olympic Torch famously never goes out, Sneesby’s tenure as Nine chief exec was extinguished in September when he stepped down from the role after a challenging period at Australia’s largest media group.

Brad Banducci’s botched interview

Interviews can be stressful for execs, we get that. While we’re not in the habit of trying to make people squirm here on B&T, the ABC’s Four Corners managed to get under then Woolies CEO Brad Banducci’s skin more than most back in February.

If you can’t remember, here’s how it went. The ABC itself said the question was “hardly a zinger”.

Then, just a day later, Banducci announced that after 13 years and facing mounting pressure over allegations Woolies was profiting from cash-strapped customers during a cost of living crisis, he resigned and was succeeded by Amanda Barwell.

If we’d advise Barwell one thing, it’s to take a deep breath before answering any curly questions from reporters.

CrowdStrike global outage

Back in July there was a cyber incident for the ages. Cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike pushed a new update to computers that use up to date versions of the Windows operating system that sent the world’s largest businesses into a tailspin. Fortunately businesses that used Mac and Linux systems (whatever they are) to manage their IT operations were spared the indignity.

The outage hit the Seven and Nine Networks, Qantas and Virgin Australia, Woolworths, Telstra and several major banks, and even the ABC and ARN’s radio stations. Globally, major airlines went down, as well as other huge businesses.

Sadly, B&T still runs on Windows 98. So while we thought that we could knock off to the pub—with cash in hand lest any card readers go on the blink—we dutifully reported through the outage.

At the time, CrowdStrike said it was “not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed”.

Proof again, reader, that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Mark Read inviting Musk on stage in Cannes

Never say that we don’t spoil you. Here, we’re giving you two balls-ups neatly rolled into one.

Earlier this year at Cannes, Mark Read, CEO of WPP, thought it best to invite the man who told the advertising industry to “go fuck yourselves” less than six months prior for a chat on-stage at the world’s largest advertising conference.

Musk, of course, is never one to be outshone. In the south of France he took the chance to prove, once and for all, that he has very little idea of what the marketing and advertising industries do and that his concept of freedom of speech is very different from most other people’s. Regardless, some in the crowd were enamoured with South African father of eight’s remarks.

Per our on-the-ground reporting: Musk declared that if you are shown an advert for a product you want “that is content”, and if you’re shown an ad for a product that you will never be interested in buying, it is “bad”.

Read asked Musk what changes he would be making to X to improve the advertising experience. Musk said that “there was essentially no targeting” on Twitter under its previous ownership and that now X was using AI to target a “vector space” for users, whatever that means. He also added that “content” and “ads” would be treated the same under the new model. Quite what this entails in practice still remains to be seen.

Remarkably and with not even a hint of irony, Musk maintained that X was the “premier” destination for marketers and advertisers to reach senior decision makers, and influential people around the world “who run countries” and companies. So get your wallets out, folks!

It hasn’t been a vintage year for Musk’s Tesla venture, either. When Musk first unveiled its Cybertruck concept in 2019, the world was bemused by its unusual design, with some observers noting they had designed similar looking cars during drawing practice in year 3. Then Musk sought to show just how impervious it was to rocks, gunfire and more—just what you need on the school run—and this backfired when a shotgun cracked its windows.

Nonetheless, deliveries finally started in late 2023.

As of November, however, Tesla has been forced to recall the vehicle six(!) times. Here’s a run-down:

At least Cybertruck can handle a burst of bullets from a Tommy gun. Thank god it isn’t sold over here.

Google’s AI blunder(s)

In truth, we could do an entire list on just AI balls-ups from this year. But Google’s really led the charge with awkward AI mistakes this year.

Back in February, it launched its Gemini AI image generation tool and immediately copped it from all corners. When users asked it to make “historically accurate” images of Vikings, British kings and more, it dutifully replied with some more ethnically diverse characters than they were perhaps expecting, and even told users that it was striving for inclusivity.

I’ve never been so embarrassed to work for a company. pic.twitter.com/eD3QPzGPxU

— stratejake (@stratejake) February 21, 2024

It even showed some very ethnically diverse German soldiers from 1943. The Wehrmacht, of course, was not known for its progressive politics.

Of course, the historical truth is worth some interrogation. There were black people in Britain and throughout Europe since records began, with a particular spike following the Roman conquest of Britain. There were even some Asian regiments within the Wehrmacht that fought on the Eastern Front—though in very limited numbers.

Google later apologised for “missing the mark” with its AI.

In May, Gemini again became the centre of attention after it was found to tell users that “non-toxic glue” makes for a great cheese pizza topping and that geologists recommended humans eat one rock per day. Google said that these were “isolated incidents” and that the AI was working well for the most part.

B&T has been unable to verify any rock-eating claims. However, given some of the pizzas we’ve been served at Surry Hills watering holes of late, it’s likely they took Google up on its glue advice. It’s ok, the Keg & Brew, we aren’t referring to your wonderful stone baked discs of happiness.

In August, Google thought it would use its Super Bowl spot to spruik its AI. The search giant aired its new ad, a continuation of the campaign started during this year’s Super Bowl, during the Opening Ceremony. It showed how US hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone inspired a young girl to get into the sport and break her world record one day.

However, while the young girl’s passion for the sport is palpable, she apparently can’t quite put pen to page to tell McLaughlin-Levrone that. Fortunately, Google’s Gemini AI is on hand!

A Google spokesperson told B&T at the time: “We believe that AI can be a great tool for enhancing human creativity, but can never replace it. Our goal was to create an authentic story celebrating Team USA. It showcases a real-life track enthusiast and her father, and aims to show how the Gemini app can provide a starting point, thought starter, or early draft for someone looking for ideas for their writing.”

It shortly pulled the ad from running on TV.

Kyle & Jackie O’s Melbourne misstep

Kyle & Jackie O are as Sydney as sunrise yoga on Bondi Beach and drunk backpackers at Bondi Beach.

Having enjoyed continued ratings success in Sydney with their KIIS show securing a 13.5 per cent share of the airwaves at the most recent count, second only to Ben Fordham, the decision was made earlier this year to expand into Victoria.

However, it seems that Melburnians have not quite taken to the duo as much as Sydneysiders.

In the most recent ratings, they closed the year with a modest five per cent market share. In stark contrast, Melbourne’s radio darlings, Jase Hawkins and Lauren Phillips of Nova 100, have surged to claim the FM breakfast top spot with an impressive 11.5 per cent share, cementing their dominance in the competitive market.

The previous ratings saw their share drop 0.9 per cent to 5.2 per cent.

B&T wonders if/when they’ll call it quits.

Bonza’s bookkeeping bonanza

We don’t blame Bonza for trying to break into the regional airline market—it’s in desperate need of some disruption. After launching to much fanfare with its planes’ purple liveries and ‘snag in a bag’ in-flight food options, it all came crashing down. Figuratively, though, not literally.

“Snag in a bag” from Bonza’s in flight menu. $5.50, sauce free. Far from the “sausage sizzle in the sky” promised, but still good value pic.twitter.com/r5SdjHQ3ZX

— Elias Visontay (@EliasVisontay) January 31, 2023

As reported by B&T sister site Travel Weekly in April: “Bonza’s days appear to be numbered as the low-cost carrier today announced mass cancellations around the country.

“Passengers were this morning left stranded at airports in the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Melbourne and Avalon as the axe dropped on the first flights.

“Flights to Launceston, Proserpine, Newcastle and Rockhampton were impacted and only nine flights were listed to go ahead as scheduled on various aviation sites this morning.”

In May, the airline entered voluntary administration with staff reported to be “screaming and crying” after being told the funds weren’t on-hand to pay them for their time. Administrators at Hall Chadwick reportedly advised staff to seek emergency government payments.

“The shock of Bonza falling into administration has barely subsided and workers are being forced to enter Centrelink queues,” said the Transport Workers Union.

“It’s appalling that Bonza has failed workers so spectacularly and that aviation workers are once again paying the price for a broken industry”.

It turns out the US backers of Bonza, Miami-based 777 Partners, may not entirely be above the board. In October, US authorities began an investigation into whether 777 Partners financial backing of Bonza amounts to money laundering.

Back to Re, it seems.

Rebranded Jaguar gives people the heebie-jeebies

We’ve covered the Jaguar rebrand at some length here on B&T—and we’re certainly not alone in that.

Still, it’s worth studying as an example of what not to do. The “Copy Nothing” tagline stands clearly at odds with the derivative creative (though part of us still holds out hope it’s all just one big ironic joke).

But as the company said at the time: “Jaguar’s transformation is defined by Exuberant Modernism, a creative philosophy that underpins all aspects of the new Jaguar brand world. It embraces bold designs, unexpected and original thinking, creating a brand character that will command attention through fearless creativity”. We’re thinking that the brand is more earnest than we’d hoped for.

“In my view, it doesn’t even meet the basic fundamental standard of an ad, which is actually to be clear about the brand that is meant to be advertising. That is not an ad, that is, in my view, an overly indulgent piece of content,” Mat Baxter told B&T earlier this year.

We reckon that says it all.

Woolies & Coles copping it over prices

In truth, Woolworths and Coles coming under fire for high prices is not a story particular to 2024. But this year, the pair really copped it.

The ACCC opened court proceedings against the grocers in September.

“Following many years of marketing campaigns by Woolworths and Coles, Australian consumers have come to understand that the ‘Prices Dropped’ and ‘Down Down’ promotions relate to a sustained reduction in the regular prices of supermarket products. However, in the case of these products, we allege the new ‘Prices Dropped’ and ‘Down Down’ promotional prices were actually higher than, or the same as, the previous regular price,” ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.

“We allege that each of Woolworths and Coles breached the Australian Consumer Law by making misleading claims about discounts, when the discounts were, in fact, illusory.”

“We also allege that in many cases both Woolworths and Coles had already planned to later place the products on a ‘Prices Dropped’ or ‘Down Down’ promotion before the price spike, and implemented the temporary price spike for the purpose of establishing a higher ‘was’ price,” Cass-Gottlieb said.

Earlier this month, Woolies staff went on strike, leaving the supermarket with gaping holes on its shelves just in the run up to Christmas. It’s safe to say that this story will rumble on into 2025 at the very least.

We’ll see you there.