Jetstar, Powderfinger to exploit fan’s enthusiasm

It’s even worse than I thought. Have a squizz at the terms and conditions. Under “Prizes” it says…

a cash payment of $100 per day to cover meals and expenses when on tour.

… so you don’t even get a sub-minimum-wage wage, you don’t get paid at all.

And…

28. Throughout the tour, the winner is expected to behave in a manner that reflects the promoter’s [that is, Jetstar's] core principles and values. Failure to act in such a way may, at the Promoter’s sole discretion, lead to the winner forfeiting the remainder of the prize.

29. Pursuant to instructions given by the Promoter [that is, Jetstar can order you to do stuff], the winner may be responsible for:

• producing daily blogs, video diaries and twitter updates;
• the onsite delivery of various ticket giveaways, conducting fan activities and consumer promotions; and
• conducting media interviews with Powderfinger, support acts and fans.

And…

33. The winner will be given exclusive Jetstar apparel, which he or she will be required to wear whenever he or she is participating in any official Powderfinger Sunsets Farewell Tour activities or participating in any Jetstar event (as requested by a Jetstar representatives).

Let’s be very, very clear here. Your “prize” is to be an unpaid marketing assistant for Jetstar Airways Pty Ltd.

@Stephen Collins: I also wonder if there’s another issue here. Jetstar states the total prize value as $20,000, based on the full retail price of the concerts, travel and accommodation. But they don’t deduct the effective retail cost of the work the winner is doing for them, neither the standard labour stuff nor the modelling fee for having their likeness used for commercial advertising. Misleading, perhaps?

@Matthew Hatton: Actually there’s plenty of good young media people out there looking for work. It just galls me that a major business like an airline could be so cheap-arsed as to exploit someone in this way.

Jetstar has responded over at mUmBRELLA (comment 15):

The intent of the competition, and it is a competition, was to try and make it something a bit more interesting than win a pair of tickets to see the band at Rod Laver arena.

It is purely a chance for someone who wants the chance to tour with the band, the chance to do just that. And I think providing that prize is quite a good thing.

We don’t actually need written content on the tour, (there will be huge amounts of content on the tour), which I think is the key to calling us exploitative. We just wanted to create the most amazing experience and prize we could, and travelling with the band to every single event seemed to be that.

And for the record, I’d like to start a worldwide ban on inappropriate use of the smiley face. It doesn’t excuse whatever is written before it.

Dave May
Head Of Marketing & PR
Jetstar

My response:

But Dave, that’s not what it says in the terms and conditions. As I said over here. If you “don’t actually need written content on the tour”, why put in the T&Cs a clause which says you can demand it?

I was always taught to ignore what the top-level PR says and read the fine print, and here the fine print says the “winner” is subject to Jetstar’s orders and wears your uniform.

And that’s the nub of it. There’s a mis-match between what the promotion says and what it says in the actual fine print. I reckon if Jetstar were being genuine about it being a prize then they wouldn’t have reserved all those rights to control the winner.