Wowcher apologizes after email references child crocodile attack

Wowcher has apologized after a marketing email appeared to turn a real child’s crocodile attack into a joke, triggering anger from customers who said the company had crossed a line in the chase for attention. The subject line, sent to shoppers with offers for getaways and activities, read: “Snap up these deals quicker than a croc can catch a kid.”

The backlash was immediate because the email landed just after a disturbing incident at Johnsons of Old Hurst in Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire. On Thursday, June 19, 2026, a three-year-old boy ended up in a crocodile enclosure and was attacked by at least one crocodile. Cambridgeshire Police said zoo staff pulled the child out of the enclosure and that he was taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge with serious injuries. Police later said he was in a critical but stable condition.

Investigators arrested a 30-year-old man from Norfolk on suspicion of attempted murder. Police said he was not fit for interview, and later reporting said he had been released on bail until September 18, 2026. The boy is understood not to have known the suspect.

By Saturday, June 21, screenshots of Wowcher’s email were circulating across social media and bulletin boards, with customers condemning the wording as “disgusting” and calling for someone to be fired. One customer said they were now unsubscribed after seeing the message, underscoring how quickly a single line of copy can erase trust built over years of discount-driven marketing.

Wowcher said the wording was “unacceptable,” “should never have been written,” and “was never approved for use.” The company apologized “unreservedly” and said there was “no excuse” for what happened, adding that the responsibility sat with it. It said it was urgently reviewing how its processes failed and was also reviewing scheduled marketing content while strengthening its creative, approval and sign-off safeguards.

The episode is a blunt case study in the reputational cost of shock-value marketing. For brands that rely on fast-moving, irreverent copy to cut through crowded inboxes, the risk is not just bad optics but the appearance of exploiting live trauma. When that happens, the backlash is swift, the apology unavoidable, and the internal questions about who signed off on the message become the story.