The ANZAC Day Exploitation

How to commemorate ANZAC day has always been a bit problematic.  It turns out a law was passed as early as 1916 in New Zealand to start thinking about it; albeit a bit vague.

Forenoon indeed.

Once piety in the forenoon, sport and piss ups in the afternoon caught on in the late 1960s, ANZAC day sport has been a big thing in Aotearoa and Australia.  In the latter, it’s massive business with a bit of respect thrown in for good measure.

But the crass commercialisation has really shaken a foot over recent years.  Case in point, the Blues.

Seriously?  That tweet has now been deleted.  Not because it was icky but because it breached advertising standards, and use of the word ANZAC.  You can have a Briscoes ANZAC day sale, but not an ANZAC one.

By the way, those sickly biscuits are exempt.

Chances are that those who perished at Gallipoli didn’t care about Briscoes sales, sickly biscuits or whatever the Blues were up to.

But there has been iffy stuff going on over the Tasman.  Take the Tigers for example with their weird Desert Storm imagery.  US Army imagery commemorating ANZAC Day?  Wow.

But wait there’s more.  Our diggers died so a betting agency in UPPERCAPS in a posh part of Sydney could survive?

From all accounts the Anzac Day regular fixtures in the AFL and NRL are respectful affairs, and we in Aotearoa could learn from that.  But there is respectful ceremony, and there is crass blood money commercialism.  Pull your heads in.