Qantas has apologised after a Twitter competition saw the airline post pictures of the winners posing with black face paint and afro wigs.
In return for two tickets to a Tri-Nations game in Brisbane he airline wanted its Twitter followers to explain how they show their support for the Australian rugby team.
The winners took a picture of themselves at the game wearing Australia shirts, but also donning large afro wigs and sporting black paint on their faces, presumably in homage to their favourite player, Radike Samo.
Soon after the picture was posted on the Qantas official Twitter feed, other followers reacted angrily.
The airline quickly removed the pictures and has since issued an apology:
The row has since developed in the Australian mainstream media into one about the boundaries of acceptable behaviour around race and humour, as well as national identity.
Radike, for his part, is apparently okay with the stunt, according to Qantas, with pictures of the player alongside the two winners also posted elsewhere on the web.
It is not the first time Qantas has found itself in a few difficulties with its efforts in social media.
In November 2010, when a Qantas Airbus A380 experienced problems after take-off from Singapore Changi Airport, officials were criticised for not coordinating messages on Twitter, Facebook and the mainstream as anxious friends and relatives of passengers tried to discover the extent of the incident, especially as some reports (apparently confirmed by Qantas) had spoken of a crash.