The Bogan - from Logan?

next via models.com

Earlier this month a hoo-haa erupted over Logan’s new ad campaign which bows next month and is due to star highprofile natives of the Queensland city, which is located 20 minutes from Brisbane. Much was made of the alleged reluctance of Logan City Council to recruit supermod Loganite Catherine McNeil, because of McNeil’s penchant for calling herself the “bogan from Logan”. Mayor Pam Walker told The Courier Mail, "Including the word bogan in a campaign like this will only reinforce a negative message in people's minds". While fellow Logan councillor Sean Black noted, "Catherine McNeil isn't scared to shout about being a bogan from Logan, so why should we be?" Well frockwriter can confirm that McNeil will definitely be on board – make that billboard. It will however be a no-go bogan zone.

According to Logan City Council, the campaign, which is linked to a website competition, is to be comprised of 8-10 billboards erected in and around Logan. Each billboard asks a single question about the region.

The question on McNeil's billboard will be:

“Who is the famous supermodel from Logan?”

There will be no accompanying images on the billboard - or any mention of the word bogan.

But are locals hellbent on declaring their bogan affiliations regardless?

In an interesting Bogan-gate development, Australian online retailer Remo Giuffre reports today via Twitter that an anonymous customer from Brisbane recently ordered a T-shirt emblazoned with the word “BOGAN” using REMO’s custom-make Designomatic service.


screengrab remogeneralstore.com

Giuffre was unable to confirm any of the customer’s details beyond their home city.

Frockwriter called McNeil’s agent Kathy Ward - who confirmed that while McNeil is not being paid for her involvement, the Logan campaign was nevertheless done in consultation with her agency Chic Management.

As for the T-shirt, Ward says she has no idea if it might have been ordered by McNeil - or any friend or family member making a purchase on her behalf.

Ward told frockwriter:

“She does have an amazing collection of T-shirts but I’m unable to confirm whether she has any involvement with this one”.

For the benefit of readers outside Australia, the word “bogan” is an Australian colloquialism which stands for "An uncouth, stupid, or square person" according to the Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang.

International equivalents would be "chav", "redneck" or "white trash".

According to a Logan City Council spokeswoman, it is not only Logan celebrities who are due to be featured in the Logan billboard campaign.

Joining McNeil, singer Darren Hayes and Olympian Steven Bradbury is, perhaps surprisingly, IKEA, which happens to be regionally headquartered in the city.

The IKEA billboard will read:

“Which Swedish furniture company is based in Logan?”

Logan City Council claims the campaign is costing $120,000, as opposed to $300,000, as originally reported by The Courier Mail.