12 hours ago
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If you've ever received a parking fine, you'll know just how horrible it feels to pull that piece of paper off your windshield.
This week, a marketing tactic involving fake parking tickets divided Melbourne residents – but as it turns out, it goes further than that, and any business pulling such a stunt could actually be breaking the law.
Burger chain New York Minute has been slapping car windshields with a convincing fake parking fine – complete with an infringement number, date/time of offence, registration and make/model.
With the design down to a tee, instead of slugging motorists for money, it reads: "You have scored a free burger. This ticket is a free burger voucher".
"9/10 very creative. It will give someone a heart attack to think you've got a fine, but at least you get a free burger! I'll definitely take it in to redeem that burger," says one user.
"It's not really free if I have to go all the way to Altona, is it?" another joked.
"One way to make sure you'll never get customers is by pretending they have a parking ticket," stated another.
Drive reached out to New York Minute to find out why it chose this marketing strategy. Antony Crowther, the owner, says the reaction has been positive.
"The cost of living is rising, and unexpected expenses like parking fines can really sting… It's not about encouraging rule-breaking; it's about offering a moment of relief and a small win when people are feeling down," said Crowther.
"The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive. Most people tell us it's the first time they've smiled after getting a fine. Others have said they'll be coming back to support us because they appreciate what we're doing. That sense of community is exactly what we wanted to create."
But it's not all fun and games when it comes to this type of advertising – as one Redditor said, "Not only is it super annoying, but doing this on windscreens is considered littering".
Is this true? Well, yes, it actually is. The Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997, written in section 146B, prohibits placing advertising material in or on a vehicle.
"Advertising material not to be placed in or on vehicles. A person must not deposit any advertising material in or on any vehicle. The maximum penalty is five penalty units."
Reading further into what constitutes an 'unsolicited document', it uses the example of "an advertising leaflet placed under the windshield wiper of a car without the consent of the owner".
In Victoria, you can be slapped with up to 10 penalty units for an individual ($1923.10) or 50 for a corporate body ($9615.50).
Looking at the data available from Revenue NSW, at least 15 fines have been given out under Section 146B since 2019, so businesses looking to be copy-cats should beware.
Zane Dobie comes from a background of motorcycle journalism, working for notable titles such as Australian Motorcycle News Magazine, Just Bikes and BikeReview. Despite his fresh age, Zane brings a lifetime of racing and hands-on experience. His passion now resides on four wheels as an avid car collector, restorer, drift car pilot and weekend go-kart racer.
