As Kiwis, we constantly fret about what others think about us and earnestly dissect and examine any mention of New Zealand from overseas sources. And we have good reason to - as a large chunk of our economy is based on the perceptions of overseas consumers.
As overseas media seek sensationalist headlines by cutting-and-pasting unsubstantiated stories of environmental woe, much of this material can be easily found from the hysterical rantings of Russel Norman.
When he's not boring bewildered moteliers by a reading a political broadcast from his iPad at their motel conference, that nice, mild-mannered Russel Norman is promoting his own toxic brand by scaring the bejesus out of unsuspecting folk with tall tales of economic and environmental armageddon.
The grumpy Veteran over at No Minister muses:
WANTED FOR ECONOMIC TREASONAnd this reminds me of the post we published some time ago that's become rather topical again as Green-vandals feeding overseas media help ramp-up further emotive debate about New Zealand's 100% Pure destination tag-line:
"Russel Norman, Male Australian, 46, ex-Communist (Australian Socialist Workers' Party) and co-leader of the Greens in the New Zealand Parliament.
For years the Greens have pedalled the canard that New Zealand rivers are too polluted to swim in. That has come home to bite with a vengeance as Fonterra works its way through the crisis of its own making with the Chinese media now picking up on the lie and using to discredit both New Zealand and our Clean Green image. This will cause major damage to our biggest exporter and to the New Zealand economy..." Read more HERE
Has Idiocy Hijacked 100% Pure?Well, maybe it finally has?
"When making claims of the effectiveness of a product or service in the advertising world, it's very rare to include the phrase: "100 percent". Companies need to give themselves a bit of wriggle-room - any "new" wonder cleaning product will only ever kill up to 99 percent of household germs.
In 1999, Tourism New Zealand launched 100% Pure New Zealand with much fan-fare. When it comes to a tag-line in advertising, this is very powerful. If someone in the marketplace makes a claim that something is "100%" then this boldly stands out and makes you pause.
The 100% Pure New Zealand tag-line was never meant to measure anything that is quantifiable or tangible. It relates to a mystical Kiwi state of mind. It's a feeling, an attitude, a set of values or an aspiration that is unique to this country. This may seem to be somewhat wishy-washy, however if you look at the campaign in context, you will see majestic landscapes, unique people and exciting experiences that play out to the back-beat of an iconic Kiwi soundtrack. The tears will start to swell and all of a sudden the 100% Pure New Zealand tagline starts to make sense.
Back in 1999 the 100% Pure New Zealand campaign resonated as a message that the public understood. The tag-line could be taken at face-value or could invite a simple thought process to uncover a deeper meaning. As time has moved on, the tag-line has accumulated some baggage. For many, the ability to think for themselves and understand the meaning behind 100% Pure New Zealand has been lost.
Unfortunately there seems to be an increasing amount of people that suffer from the inability to view things in context. These uncreative, bland folk seem to have varying degrees of Asperger's syndrome and tend to take things too literally. They just don't get the 100% Pure New Zealand tagline and assume it's an overreaching environmental catch-cry.
Inevitably, these same mean-spirited, hapless folk believe 100% in the headline grabbing hysteria created by University environmental science lecturers, Green Party activists and Greenpeace vandals that get a kick from knocking New Zealand as a tourism destination.
Has idiocy finally hijacked 100% Pure New Zealand?"
