'Offensive' Tui billboard takes a hasty flight

[rex]

By BELINDA FEEK

"A beer billboard that offended many Christian groups in Hamilton is coming down almost as quickly as it went up."

For the rest of the article, and a photo of the billboard, see:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4783624a4560.html

 

[Safe-Keeper]

I normally don't sympathize with people who think they have the right to not be offended, but OK, that one was a bit unnecessary.

 

[sackett]

Nowhere else in the anglophone world would anybody read "tui" as anything but a sound of disgust. Cf. "Patooie!" But down there in Middle Earth it's the name of an echanting songbird. (Never tried the beer.) So do En Zedders pay it no special mind?

How about, "Yeah. Right."? Does that carry ironic, slightly disgusted connotations in NZ? I'd really like to know.

Especially before my next visit.

 

[Nick Bogaerts]

This is a bit off topic, but the terminology puzzles me:

, the joke was lost on Father Frank Eggleton, parish priest of the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Surely a cathedral would make it a diocese, not a parish, and Father Frank Eggleton a bishop, not a priest.

 

[gumboot]

The "Yeah right" Tui ads have become something of a cultural icon down here. Personally I think they're making a fuss about nothing, and the billboard should have stayed up. It's a pity Tui bended to pressure.

 

[Frozenwolf150]

Yet somehow billboards like this one are okay. (Someone posted the same billboard in another topic, but I can't seem to remember which.)

 

[gumboot]

This is a bit off topic, but the terminology puzzles me:

Surely a cathedral would make it a diocese, not a parish, and Father Frank Eggleton a bishop, not a priest.

The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the church of the Parish of Hamilton East, in the diocese of Hamilton.

See here.

The Bishop of Hamilton is Denis Browne.

Also see here for an explanation of the Catholic parish.

 

[gumboot]

Nowhere else in the anglophone world would anybody read "tui" as anything but a sound of disgust. Cf. "Patooie!" But down there in Middle Earth it's the name of an echanting songbird. (Never tried the beer.) So do En Zedders pay it no special mind?

I'm not sure what you mean. The Tui is just a native New Zealand bird, nothing else. Its name has no other connotations or implications.

How about, "Yeah. Right."? Does that carry ironic, slightly disgusted connotations in NZ? I'd really like to know.

Ironic and sarcastic, yes. Disgusted? No.

 

[tkingdoll]

Nah. They've had more PR value out of this than the billboard ad space was worth. Fundies aren't their target market, and they've now reached a hell of a wider audience than the billboards alone would have. Win-win.

 

[lionking]

Nah. They've had more PR value out of this than the billboard ad space was worth. Fundies aren't their target market, and they've now reached a hell of a wider audience than the billboards alone would have. Win-win.

You beat me to it teek. I would never have heard of the beer otherwise. And of course some sitting on the fence about religion may say "well what a silly, humorless and irrelevant lot".

 

[I Ratant]

The "Tui" commercials in the "Best Commercials" thread are hilarious!

 

[Safe-Keeper]

Yet somehow billboards like this one are okay.

Being offensive is only wrong when the victim is a Muslim. Or to a lesser degree a Christian.

 

[Steelmage]

These people need to get a life. It is just a billboard, and shows a statement that IMHO shows the way some people are. In my opinion, these people do not really believe or they would not be offend because they know that other people do not believe in their christ.
As in the article about Christmas losing it's true meaning, this is funny coming from a christian as this was a Pagan Holiday at one time.

 

[Zep]

It's a BEER ad! NZ being part of the downundaverse, we revere beer at Christmas because the weather is HOT! And enzedders are a sarcastic lot. Any country that has a pub with puppet figures sending up politicians straight over the road from the national parliament house has GOT to be able to poke fun at itself!

http://www.backbencher.co.nz/

PS. beer is nice.

 

[Bob Blaylock]

I don't believe in any general right to not be offended. If a company wants to run a billboard like this one, that's their right. I'd have to think it very foolish to do so. Perhaps there's some significant cultural difference between New Zealand and the U.S. that is causing me to misunderstand, but to me, this billboard comes across as highly disrespectful toward Christianity; and it doesn't surprise me in the least that quite a few Christians are offended by it. Offending your potential customers is not a good way to convince them to buy your product.

I'm reminded of a brief scene in the movie Idiocracy, that seems to depict the same idiocy as this billboard, though rather more strongly. In this scene, a billboard is shown with the text reading, “If you don't smoke Tarytons, F___ you!”.

The billboard mentioned in the OP might as well just say, “If you don't drink Tui, then F___ you!”

 

[Magenta]

Perhaps there's some significant cultural difference between New Zealand and the U.S. that is causing me to misunderstand, [/i]

When it comes to religion there are significant differences between the US and just about every other comparable country.

 

[Zep]

I don't believe in any general right to not be offended. If a company wants to run a billboard like this one, that's their right. I'd have to think it very foolish to do so. Perhaps there's some significant cultural difference between New Zealand and the U.S. that is causing me to misunderstand, but to me, this billboard comes across as highly disrespectful toward Christianity;...

There certainly are major differences! In this case, it's being disrespectful to the "snow and holly, happy families" Christmas as portrayed in Hallmark greeting cards. As I said above, Christmas down here is summer, and that means outdoors activities - cricket, swimming, family holidays, etc. The ad is saying something equivalent to "When you next go to the next baseball game, remember to consider the umpire's family before making any comments...YEAH RIGHT!! "

...and it doesn't surprise me in the least that quite a few Christians are offended by it. Offending your potential customers is not a good way to convince them to buy your product

Very few Christians would be offended by it in NZ. But in this one case, one was enough to complain. So they reacted. You do realise that this is just one of a series of hundreds if not thousands of similar billboards across NZ? Tui is a national brand beer; this is a major campaign. There'll be plenty of other billboads with this still on.

I'm reminded of a brief scene in the movie Idiocracy, that seems to depict the same idiocy as this billboard, though rather more strongly. In this scene, a billboard is shown with the text reading, “If you don't smoke Tarytons, F___ you!”.

The billboard mentioned in the OP might as well just say, “If you don't drink Tui, then F___ you!”

Umm, no. You read the mood really wrong there. Those billboards are AMUSING! They are FUNNY! Some of them are very clever, actually. We lol'd! Enzedders lol too. A lot. If you take it seriously, you are too uptight!

 

[Roger Ramjets]

Here's another one. It's obviously a dig at Jehovah's Witnesses, so I can't imagine any normal person being offended. However it also appears to have been censored.

The first time I saw it the usual 'Yeah Right' text on the right-hand side had been hastily covered over with black paint. A week later the text re-appeared, but this time hand-painted. I though it was just an advertising gimmick, but now I'm not so sure. If the text was restored unofficially by a 'graffiti artist' then I think that person deserves a free beer!

 

[gumboot]

Perhaps there's some significant cultural difference between New Zealand and the U.S.

That's an understatement, particularly when it comes to religion.

but to me, this billboard comes across as highly disrespectful toward Christianity; and it doesn't surprise me in the least that quite a few Christians are offended by it. Offending your potential customers is not a good way to convince them to buy your product.

The only "Christians" in New Zealand that are likely to get offended by this ad are the sort that don't drink beer. We're a decidedly unreligious nation, except when it comes to our beer...

The billboard mentioned in the OP might as well just say, “If you don't drink Tui, then F___ you!”

What you're probably missing here (and it's understandable) is this is not a one-off billboard attacking Christians. As Zep said, this is one of literally hundreds of identically themed billboards (not to mention bumper stickers, print ads, and all sorts of other mediums) that are spread across the entire country. What's notable about the Tui ads is:

a) They're irreverent
b) They're often topical
c) They reflect/parody archetypal New Zealand culture

There are a lot of these ads and most of them have nothing to do with religion.

 

[sackett]

The wonders of advertising are not mine to question

I'm not sure what you mean....

QED.