PHOTO: FILE
📍 Cringe or clever? Real estate flyer goes viral for all the right (and wrong) reasons. Good on him – we say!
MELBOURNE, 24 April 2025 — Forget glossy headshots and “top agent” clichés — one Aussie realtor is rewriting the marketing playbook with a “WANTED” poster that’s divided an entire suburb.
🎯 Raphael Houston, a real estate agent for Ray White Coburg, has gone viral after plastering the neighbourhood with crime-style flyers, cheekily branding himself as a “real estate criminal”—and locals are either howling with laughter or hiding in embarrassment.
Raphael Houston’s ‘wanted’ poster (pictured) has caused a stir
Mr Houston listed his crimes, known accomplices and a reward (pictured)
📌 The Campaign: “WANTED – For Record-Breaking Results”
The flyer mimics a police wanted poster and features:
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📸 A mugshot of Houston (complete with a fake neck tattoo)
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💬 Crimes: “Providing expert advice” and “Achieving record-breaking sales”
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🤝 “Known accomplices”: His Ray White colleagues
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🏆 Reward: “Guaranteed satisfaction for your real estate needs”
🗣️ “I wanted to stand out. There are so many flyers in Coburg, and I live here too. It had to be something bold,” Houston told Daily Mail Australia.
💬 Public Reaction: Genius or Just Plain Cringe?
As expected, the internet had opinions.
📱 Reddit exploded with comments:
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“Cringe overload. I hate it — but also read the whole thing.”
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“That neck tattoo is nightmare fuel.”
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“So embarrassing, I pulled a muscle from cringing.”
But others saw brilliance in the boldness:
💡 “At least he stood out. I remember his name, don’t I?”
🎙️ Houston Responds: “Better to Be Talked About”
Despite the polarising response, Houston is taking it in stride:
“Some people blasted me, sure. But plenty laughed and messaged me with support. That’s marketing. I’ll keep going.”
He revealed he’s already planning his next big stunt: 🗳️ “I had one called ‘Make Property Great Again’ — but we pinned that idea. I’ve got more coming.”
Mr Houston (pictured) said he wanted to stand out from the competition
🧠 Real Estate Marketing Reimagined
| 📌 Marketing Move | ✅ Result |
|---|---|
| WANTED Poster | Viral on Reddit & news outlets |
| Local engagement | High — mixed but memorable |
| Brand awareness | Boosted for Ray White Coburg |
| Future plans | More quirky flyers incoming |
👀 What This Means for NZ Real Estate Marketers
As property listings get competitive and digital noise increases, authenticity and creativity may become the next big thing.
✅ Memorable branding
✅ Hyper-local engagement
✅ Viral potential
❌ Risk of backlash — but that’s part of the buzz
The real estate agent (pictured) plans to create more unusual flyers in the future
SOURCE: THE DAILY MAIL