B&TB&TB&T
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Technology
  • Regulars
    • Agency Scorecards
    • Best of the Best
    • Campaigns of the Month
    • CMO Power List
    • CMOs to Watch
    • Culture Bites
    • Fast 10
    • New Business Winners
    • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Jobs
  • Awards
    • 30 Under 30
    • B&T Awards
    • Cairns Crocodiles
    • Women In Media
    • Women Leading Tech
Search
Trending topics:
  • Cairns Crocodiles
  • Nine
  • Seven
  • Cannes Lions
  • NRL
  • State of Origin
  • WPP
  • B&T Women in Media
  • Thinkerbell
  • Pinterest
  • imaa
  • AFL
  • Anthony Albanese
  • AI
  • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Foxtel
  • Meta
  • TV Ratings
  • Radio Ratings
  • Sports Marketing

  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.
Reading: Aussie Fashion Brand Apologises For “Shocking” Ransom-Style Email Marketing Stunt
Share
B&TB&T
Subscribe
Search
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Technology
  • Regulars
    • Agency Scorecards
    • Best of the Best
    • Campaigns of the Month
    • CMO Power List
    • CMOs to Watch
    • Culture Bites
    • Fast 10
    • New Business Winners
    • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Jobs
  • Awards
    • 30 Under 30
    • B&T Awards
    • Cairns Crocodiles
    • Women In Media
    • Women Leading Tech
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.
B&T > Marketing > Aussie Fashion Brand Apologises For “Shocking” Ransom-Style Email Marketing Stunt
Marketing

Aussie Fashion Brand Apologises For “Shocking” Ransom-Style Email Marketing Stunt

Staff Writers
Published on: 20th April 2018 at 11:00 AM
Staff Writers
Share
6 Min Read
SHARE

An Aussie online fashion brand has apologised for an email marketing stunt which has been described by some as “shocking” and “poor taste”.

YP Threads sent out an email telling those who received it that the brand had compromising photos of them from a party, and that it would share them “everywhere” unless they liked the YP Threads Facebook page and bought some clothing off its online store.

The email, which went out to 17,000 people, read something like this:

“Remember that party where you got totally shit-canned?

“I have the photos of you doing some really, really weird stuff. I’m holding it ransom.

“I’ll give it back, but only if you re-friend me on Facebook and buy some of my threads.

“If you don’t get back to me in 48 hours, the photos will be everywhere – at your work, at your school, under your pillow.”

According to Triple J’s Hack program, once the email recipients had followed YP Threads’ orders, the email said they would be provided with a map to retrieve the photos, ending with: “We know where you live. Time starts now.”

Now, for those of you unfamiliar with YP Threads, it’s basically a fashion brand created by blokes, for blokes, that specialises in party shirts, shorts and socks, and doesn’t take itself too seriously.

YP Threads (2)

So the email, which came from an external marketing company, was supposed to be a joke.

However, Hack host Tom Tilley described the marketing ploy as “a shocking attempt at marketing and a shocking attempt at humour”.

One of the people who received the email and was interviewed by Hack said he was “freaked out” when he saw the email come through on his phone.

“I thought someone was trying to blackmail me,” he said.

The man, who is on a temporary contract with his employer, was worried the photos would be leaked to them and “land me in a bit of hot water”.

“I had to read through it two or three times just to make sure, and at that point I sort of realised and started to get a feeling of disbelief that someone was using this to try and sell party shirts,” he said.

“I just think it was poor taste. They don’t operate within a bubble.”

“I definitely won’t be purchasing anything off them moving forward.”

On a scale of how bad the marketing stunt was, Simon Bell, a professor of marketing at the University of Melbourne, rated it a solid seven out of 10, but said it could’ve been worse.

“Whether it falls flat or not often times can depend upon a brand’s tone of voice or at least how they’re positioned in the minds of consumers in their market,” he told Hack.

“Obviously they’ll be losing some customers at the margin, and then of course there’ll be some potential customers who will no longer consider trying them.

“There will be some impact on the business, but often times companies survive these controversial marketing efforts simply because of customer inertia.”

Speaking to Tilley, YP Threads co-founder Jaybor Staunton said that after looking at the email “in the broad light of day”, the brand sent out a follow-up apology email an hour later.

“It’s not ideal. We weren’t looking to go out there to be deliberately salacious or [with] any intent to be malicious or anything like that,” he said.

“It was a poor judge in character and a bit of an example of bad taste, really.

“But to hear it from a customer – we always say customer’s king – so it does grate a little bit. We want to make sure that they do know that we weren’t deliberately being malicious with it.

Co-founder Jake Kelder was equally as apologetic, but said the stunt had turned out in YP Threads’ favour in terms of sales.

“We did get a big spike in terms of traffic. A lot more open emails and sales as a result,” he said.

“The joke was made in bad taste, and we are truly sorry. It invoked bad memories for some people, and whilst that was never our intention, we take responsibility for that.”

Hack noted that the stunt is in fact not illegal, but could breach Section 2.6 of the Advertising Code of Practice (which concerns meeting community standards). However, it’s unlikely any action will be taken against YP Threads given how quick it was to apologise.

Another person who received the email told Hack they recognised it was fake, had a laugh, got the apology, “and didn’t really think twice of it”, and still plans to shop from YP threads.

Join more than 30,000 advertising industry experts
Get all the latest advertising and media news direct to your inbox from B&T.

No related posts.

TAGGED: Hack, Tom Tilley, Triple J
Share
Staff Writers
By Staff Writers
Follow:
Staff Writers represent B&T's team of award-winning reporters. Here, you'll find articles crafted with industry experience spanning over 50 years. Our team of specialists brings together a wealth of knowledge and a commitment to delivering insightful, topical, and breaking news. With a deep understanding of advertising and media, our Staff Writers are dedicated to providing industry-leading analysis and reporting, both shaping the conversation and setting the benchmark for excellence.

Latest News

Patrick Rowe, Mandie Van Der Merwe, Avish Gordhan.
Agency Scorecard: Saatchi & Saatchi
15/07/2025
SCA Chief Content Officer Dave Cameron To Depart After 30 Years
15/07/2025
Harley-Davidson Rallies Riders For Inaugural ‘United We Ride’ Fundraiser Via The Salvation Army
15/07/2025
Agency Scorecard: Nunn Media
15/07/2025
//

B&T is Australia’s leading news publication magazine for the advertising, marketing, media and PR industries.

 

B&T is owned by parent company The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.

About B&T

  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise

Top Categories

  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Opinion
  • Technology
  • TV Ratings

Sign Up for Our Newsletter



B&TB&T
Follow US
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Register Lost your password?