Air New Zealand’s ‘racist and sex-ad campaign’ kicks up controversy

MELBOURNE - Air New Zealand’s latest advertising campaign is raising eyebrows yet again as it is riddled with sexual innuendo and racial puns.

Featuring a vampire-like animal puppet by the name of Rico, the ads are meant to focus attention on the airline’s new premium economy spaceseat on the 777-300 aircraft, reports News.com.au.

Lines from Rico, the Equadorian star of the campaign, range from “I love her bush - it’s amazing!” to “All we need now is a nice Kiwi beach (pronounced bitch)” and “I can feel her wind, she’s blowing you” in the advertisement known as Happy Hour.

Their second advertisement, ‘The Intimate Art of Touch’, sees Rico producing one-liners like “You can lick the crack” and “The screen is like a woman, and you must be gentle with her…put your finger here and touch her lightly… I go back to touching mine.”

The furry creature even has his own Facebook page - his ‘Personal Interests’ section states that he enjoys “Travelling to everywhere, meating the friend. Relapsing in nice place, writing the book and taking away photo. Lhama polo.”

The airline is even promoting the campaign on twitter with links like “Meet @flyairnz ’s frequent and furry flyer #Rico experiencing our brand new 777-300 https://t.co/WaJ4oca”

Each Rico advertisement begins with a warning that “The following video contains language and themes of a sensitive nature”, but with three more advertisements are still to be released, the boundaries are sure to be pushed even further. (ANI)