The Booragoon shopping centre has learned a valuable lesson from the BOM rebrand catastrophe and have quietly scrapped its plans to appeal to the public to stop being referred to as “Garbo”.
Considering itself the “Claremont Quarter of the South”, Garden City has long resented such an ugly colloquial nickname. Accordingly, a PR campaign was in the pipeline to refer to the centre as “The Booragoon” or by its proper name “Westfield Booragoon Shopping Centre”.
We spoke to an unofficial source within Westfield who told The Times,
“We haven’t been called Garden City for years. So why must we keep being called Garbo. Will Perth ever move on? Is it too much to be called The Booragoon? Nevertheless, we realise now that this will go down in flames thanks BOM shitting the bed”
Indeed it would. We spoke to a lifelong SOR dweller and Garbo-enthusiast who said it will be Garbo until he dies. Adding,
“It’s the only shopping centre I’ve ever been to. From smoking darts outside the food court when I was 15, to pulling cones outside Hoyts when I was 22 to avoiding my school alumni to this current day. Garbo is a part of me”
However, the name shift does have some support from snooty Attadale residents who greatly overestimate their social standing in Perth. We spoke to Elizabeth who told The Times,
“Garbo is so common. We are a thriving upper socio-economic community. I know some people think that is inconsistent with SOR but we deserve the sort of respect Karrinyup enjoys. Despite it being an objectively more questionable locale”
Nevertheless, it appears Westfield will be scrapping the planned public appeal for the foreseeable future. In the meantime, the shopping giant is urged to “lean into it” and embrace the time honoured nickname.
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