Airline's description of Oakland as 'wilder side of San Francisco' irks locals

This slide sponsored by Qantas Airlines calling Oakland "the wild side of San Francisco" was shown at a recent tourism conference in San Francisco. If you do want to visit the "wild side," where should you go? Click through for some Oakland travel suggestions. less This slide sponsored by Qantas Airlines calling Oakland "the wild side of San Francisco" was shown at a recent tourism conference in San Francisco. If you do want to visit the "wild side," where should you go? ... more Photo: Qantas Photo: Qantas Image 1 of / 14 Caption Close Airline's description of Oakland as 'wilder side of San Francisco' irks locals 1 / 14 Back to Gallery

Call it a compliment gone awry? An airline's promotional description of Oakland as the "wild side of San Francisco" did not go over well with some of its residents, who would rather not be seen as SF's bad-boy cousin to the east.

A blog post sponsored by Australia's Qantas Airways includes a large image at the top with Lake Merritt and the "wild side" headline. The well-meaning writer goes on to describe in tone-deaf detail a visit to the "wilder corners" of Oakland, adding that for many, "the East Bay Area is just an outer suburb of SF," that Oakland life "is a little bit rougher."

Um, thanks?

By the way, Qantas doesn't actually fly to Oakland, though it does fly to San Francisco.

An employee for Visit Oakland posted the "wild side" image on Facebook after seeing it at a tourism conference in San Francisco, KPIX reported. Visit Oakland clarified on social media that it had nothing to do with the slide or article.

Leading the backlash was Oakland City Councilmember Desley Brooks, who told KPIX "Oakland is magnificently Oakland...not in the shadow of anything...and not the comical 'wild side.' I didn't and don't approve."

Visit Oakland CEO Alison Best told the station the Qantas promotion "has nothing to do with Visit Oakland or the City of Oakland."