Pt 2 of Bars And Nightclubs’ election special
In 1966 Harold Holt, having finally finished planning his disappearance in a year’s time, held public swimming lessons at Bondi beach. Said he to himself, “I’m the only one here that appreciates the brilliance of this piece of publicity.” And indeed, a year later, only Holt and his fellow Chinese submariners were able to laugh over his brilliant punch-line, the ultimate PR stunt.
Campaign stunts can take all kindsa mellifluous shapes and forms; be it Billy Hughes’ wet ankle contests of the late teens, Chiffley’s “construct-a-bucketbong-athon” of ’48, Menzies “deny-the-vote-to-blacks” bike race of ’61, or even the great little John Howard’s “Men with Penis Envy Rally” of ’97.