Hate mail, a sustained broadside from the combined Australian media and the odd death threat were water off a duck’s back to the boys from Hell.
In 2005, Hell Pizza directors Stuart McMullin and Warren “Otis” Powell were tossing ideas around when they came up with a promotion based on the odyssey of Schapelle Corby, who had just been sentenced to 20 years in a Balinese jail for importing 4.1 kilogrammes of marijuana in a boogie board bag.
The prize was a “holiday that could last a lifetime” to Bali and a boogie board for the person who named the politician most deserving of being sent to hell for his or her sins.
The winner would pocket another $500 if they came back with a photo of themselves with Schapelle.
Vitriol, threats of murder and arson, and demands for an apology via blogs and the Australian press prompted Mr McMullin to offer an apology, albeit one with a couple of strings attached.
First, the Australia Government would have to say sorry on behalf of the country for historical wrongdoings, including claiming Phar Lap and Neil Finn as their own, allowing Britain to conduct nuclear tests on Aboriginal land, and for producing nationalist Queensland politician Pauline Hanson.
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Photo: Maarten Holl / Dominion Post.