Dog-eating advert a stunt for TV show

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A "racist" advertising campaign by a pizza restaurant chain was part of a stunt to promote a reality-TV show.

The Auckland billboards promoting Hell Pizza's gluten-free brownies read: "At least our brownie won't eat your dog", in a reference to the recent outcry over a Tongan man who was found roasting his pet dog.

But the adverts which have prompted 12 complaints to the Advertising Standards Complaints Board and a protest planned for today are not a straightforward promotion for the chain. The chain is involved in trying to produce a TV show called Pitch produced by Pitch Television, which is owned by two of the people who are behind Hell Pizza.

In the show, 20 18-to-25-year-olds who want to break into advertising will compete to win their own business.

The Hell billboard was designed by four students applying to become contestants on the show. The billboards have now been changed to read: "Lighten up. Hell Pizzas are 90 per cent fat free. Like dog."

Hell Pizza and Pitch spokesman Matt Blomfield said Pitch would turn the "old advertising model on its head as we go about creating an advertising agency specialising wholly on selling to the youth market". Mr Blomfield said TVNZ had expressed an interest in screening Pitch.

Hell Pizza chief executive and Pitch owner Warren Powell said he expected the contestants to push boundaries but all ideas would have to be signed off by "a custodian of the brand".

The campaign has been criticised by anti-racism groups and an industry expert.

Socialist Aotearoa plans a blockade and picket at Hell Pizza's store in Quay St, downtown Auckland, today.

Protest organiser Tania Lim said: "I am opposed to companies like Hell Pizza exploiting racism for the purposes of profit." The change to the billboard was insulting: "Don't tell us to 'lighten up'. You've already insulted our skin colour once."

Paul White, programme leader for advertising creativity at Auckland University of Technology, believed the billboards did nothing to promote the pizza brand. "If this sets the benchmark of what they [the show producers] want people to do, it's very stupid."

He said putting young advertising staff under pressure and expecting them to push boundaries was normal, but pushing for outrageous advertising stunts to cause controversy was not suitable.