Coffin marketing stunt backfires on Jakarta agency

Each coffin, with an interior length of approx 30 to 40 inches, contained flowers and a note with a different number and the inscription www.restinpeacesoon.com. The sender was listed as 'Rest in peace soon'.

The number proved to be a passcode for the website as part of a publicity stunt for the launch of a book entitled Rest in peace advertising, the power of word of mouth marketing.

Buzz & Co CEO Sumardy Ma was subsequently arrested and the office at Senayan Trade Center in South Jakarta raided. He was quoted as saying that it was just part of a publicity campaign for the book and the website, which was activated on 6 June. A Twitter account has also been engaged.

He added that such an advertising gimmick is lower in cost and had become an interesting campaign, compared to the “boring promotions” people are used to.

The head of one of Indonesia's largest advertising agencies said such an advertising gimmick was in bad taste, and that it did not generate much buzz among the general public.

“It is as bad as sending out something provocative like a fake bomb in Indonesia, sending out coffins is just bad taste. Of course some people talk about it, but the funny thing is that it's mainly advertising people who are talking about it. I talked to my clients who are marketers and they just don’t really care,” he noted.