Time to Roam Magazine Issue 3 - June/July 2013 | Page 7

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upfront news

Wicked war continues

Wicked Campers – amusing to some, offensive to others

Australia’s Advertising Standards Bureau
has declared a new round in the war against
the ‘bad boys’ of the RV hire business,
Wicked Campers.
The Brisbane-based company has been

under fire since 2008 for the controversial
slogans painted on its budget vans targeted
at the youth market.
Some say the signs are amusing and
politically incorrect, but critics say they

are downright sexist, racist and even
homophobic.
The company seems to revel in the
publicity and ‘bad boy’ image and it certainly
doesn’t seem to have harmed business.
Wicked is now a global success story with its
campers available in New Zealand, Africa,
Europe and North America.
The CEO of Australia’s Advertising
Standards Bureau, Fiona Jolly, says she’s
frustrated by the continuing complaints.
She said Wicked always agreed to remove
offensive signs after mediation, but were
always too slow in actually complying and so
the complaints kept rolling in.
Ms Jolly plans to lobby the Queensland
Government to intervene to get the offensive
vans repainted or off the road.
Wicked Campers declined to respone.

Tornado wipe out
The value of caravan and camping-based
tourism has been brought home to the NSWVictoria border region after a tornado wiped
out three local tourist parks.
Corowa shire Deputy Mayor Daryl Davey
said the region has suffered greatly from
the March 21 tornado – one of the worst ever
seen in Australia. The loss of tourism was
especially felt over the Easter period with
all three parks closed at what’s normally
one of the busiest times of the year on Lake
Mulwala.
Although the region was declared a
natural disaster area, Councillor Davey said
money had been slow coming to help with
the clean-up, with debris still scattered
widely around the area.
Falling trees, flying glass and sheet metal
injured more than 20 people, two critically.
Many permanent residents of the parks were
left homeless.
The Denison County Caravan Park was
hardest hit with more than 150 vans and
villas destroyed.
Owners Craig and Debbie O’Callaghan are

Caravan parks bore the brunt of the
tornado, one of the worst seen in Australia

Shattered park owners Craig and
Debbie O’Callaghan, still battling to
re-open the business.
Photos: Border Mail

still working to clean up and re-open, the
task made more difficult by the presence
of asbestos and the fact many on-site van
owners were not insured.
In a further blow to caravan owners,
they’ve announced the park will re-open as
a cabin-only tourist complex, with owners of

any remaining vans on site asked to remove
what’s left of them.
Near Kyffins Reserve, a popular camping
area used by RV travellers remains closed
indefinitely, while the Sun Country Caravan
Park finally reopened earlier this month.

Issue 03 June/July 2013

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