Facebook ads finally come in useful by reminding Australian travellers that it’s Mother’s Day tomorrow

Facebook ads have finally proven themselves worthwhile after reminding all 310,000 Australians who are currently overseas that they should probably give Mum a buzz on WhatsApp tomorrow.

Annoyingly, Mother’s Day in Australia takes place on the second Sunday of May, a date so forgettable that only people who run tacky gift shops or sell flowers would ever remember it. This is amplified by the fact that the occasion is, for some reason, celebrated on a different date in the UK, which is where more than half of those Australians currently reside. 

Sources have confirmed that literally every single Aussie abroad under the age of 35 wouldn’t have had a clue that the holiday was approaching if it weren’t for a series of annoying Facebook ads from companies like Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi. 

“Most of my Facebook ads are for buttplugs on Wish or funeral insurance,” said Dazza, 22, an Aussie currently holed up in Edinburgh. “Call me naive, but I’m pretty sure those aren’t targeted at me.” 

Anyway, this particular ad stood out by not making me feel uncomfortable, so I took a closer look. Turns out Harvey Norman has 20% off DVD players and landline phones because it’s Mother’s Day.

“I’m not sure why anybody would want either of those things in 2020, but hey, at least it reminded me that I should send Mum a sneaky message and a picture of a rose tomorrow morning. No chance I would’ve remembered otherwise.”

Dazza added that, while there was no chance in hell he’d be making an online purchase from an Australian retailer any time soon, he was thankful for the reminder.

“Mate, I forgot Mother’s Day two years ago and it did not go down well,” he said. “Had to deal with the old ‘All I ever did was give birth to you, feed you, pay for your clothes…’ routine. Took me several months of calling home every other week to live that one down.”

Facebook’s analytics department has confirmed that every year at around 11 pm on the second Saturday in May, there’s a 12,000% increase in Australians sending messages that read: “Oi Dad, could you buy some flowers and put my name on the card?”