Auckland: In the world envisioned by a recent Tourism New Zealand advertisement, a khaki-clad employee of the fictional Social Observation Squad rescues wayward travellers from the cliches of Kiwi tourism.
“Lower those arms nice and slow,” the officer, played by comedian Tom Sainsbury, bellows through a megaphone to a pair of travellers committing a “summit spread-eagle” photo opportunity at Coromandel Peak, which overlooks the South Island’s Lake Wanaka. He pulls them away from the precipice and dispatches them instead on a bicycle winery tour.
This lighthearted ad, intended for a domestic audience, went viral internationally last week for its tongue-in-cheek call to action: Stop posting unimaginative photos on social media, please - enough with the hot-tub shots and images of glossy beachside legs.