EXCLUSIVE:LG in PR horror after Weekend Away promotion goes badly wrong

Electronics giant LG is facing a PR nightmare after its customers failed to get free weekend trips they had been promised as part of a promotion, Mumbrella can reveal.

The situation began more than a year ago, in December 2007, when LG offered a free weekend away in various Australian hotels worth up to $400 if they bought items including plasma and LCD TVs, AV equipment, DVD players, GPS systems, fridges, washer dryers and air conditioning units.

But many customers have found it impossible to claim their trips, with long delays in getting answers and availability hurdles put in their path.

The situation bears some similarities to the Hoover free flights fiasco, one of the biggest disasters in British marketing history. Customers were offered free trips in return for buying Hoover products, but the company was overwhelmed by demand. It eventually cost the company more than $100m, although there is no evidence to suggest that LG is facing a situation on that scale.