100% Pure You? Poor Anna Faris

It’s official, New Zealand is no longer 100% Pure.

Tourism New Zealand recently launched a new advertising campaign that pushes the 100% pure emphasis off of the country and onto the individual that visits it.

Shame then that Anna Feris didn’t feel 100% Pure when she was in NZ shooting the movie  Yogi Bear.

She attracted the wrong sort of attention from middle aged men in cars whilst walking through Auckland, when they shouted a barrage of highly offensive and sexual abuse at the popular Hollywood Star.

The  travel section of the Syndey Morning Herald covered New Zealand’s new 100% Pure You campaign saying

Tourism New Zealand chief executive Kevin Bowler said research suggested New Zealand could increase its appeal as a holiday destination by personalising its marketing message and focusing on more than scenery.
“We have identified people around the world already considering travelling here and the addition of You to the successful 100% Pure New Zealand advertising message is a logical step that will benefit the tourism industry by highlighting the individual experiences on offer,” Bowler said.
Tourism New Zealand’s new marketing campaign…includes online banner ads and TV commercials showcasing the experiences of a young woman jetboating, a middle-aged father taking his children tramping, and a young woman horse-riding. All the commercials feature the 100% Pure You tagline.

But Anna Faris has  highlighted another very individual experience that young women are being offered in New Zealand. Sexual Harassment.
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The Herald reported on an interview she gave in the US, in which she recounted her experiences of visiting  New Zealand

“I’m walking home, I’ve got my backpack on, got my jeans on, and this carload of guys – they were like in their 40s, from what I could glimpse – they said, ‘f*ck you, as*hole’.”
Lopez asked her why they had shouted the obscenities.
She replied: “I don’t know, and, like, three minutes later, a car full of older gentlemen said, ‘show me your tits, you stupid bitch’.
“I was like, you tell me where you are at – I’m going to go home to your place and I’m going to show you a good time with that kind of treatment? Oh, yeah.”

Surprising then that instead of apologising to Ms Faris for her experience and offering to give her some more positive memories to take away about New Zealand,  Ian Long – a spokesman for Tourism NZ -  chose instead to denigrate her further and with one swift move plunged the status of women in NZ back into the dark ages.

Is it normal to’ blame the victim’ like this in NZ?

According to the Herald report

Tourism NZ spokesman Ian Long said no one would take Faris seriously.
“In the same segment, she accepts an award for being a pothead stoner of the year and she’s quite clearly had a few. I don’t think she has any credibility,” he said.
Long’s attack on Faris was echoed by New Zealanders approached in the street, some of whom appeared to blame Faris for the abuse.
One man said that if she was famous she must expect “attention”; a woman said she “gets her tits out” in movies so shouldn’t be surprised at the public reaction.

And then went to include some thoughts from the public at large which included this one

Sam Aki, Male, 25
“She looks like the type of woman who would get that sort of attention. She’s giving Kiwi blokes a bad reputation. If she’s famous she must expect that everywhere she goes.”

Hardly surprising  is that the new tourism campaign has cut little ice in Australia, perhaps the Aussies know a fake when they see one?  Some of them commented to the SMH:

• Normally I have no problem with change, but I don’t like this change! It sounds tacky. The original one was honest, and sold the beauty that is New Zealand. Now it sounds like something a car salesman would come up with.

• If I take the time and trouble to go overseas, it’s because I want to see people and places that are different to my usual experience. Why would I go overseas for “me”? I can see me at home.

• I was there for a week – first time and last time. SO cold, raining all the time, absolutely horrible if you take out the view which is the only thing going for it. 100% “poor” you, if you go.

Why should the type of women depicted in the ads want to travel to New Zealand and risk subjecting themselves to the unwanted abuse that Anna Faris attracted?


Hardly surprising is it that New Zealand has the highest number of women as a percentage of the population victimised by sexual assault - Nationmaster data. Read some of our posts Violence against women in New Zealand

For more about the women’s issues in New Zealand click  here or read some of our following blogs

Parents Furious At Dean’s “Slut” Comment
Womens’ Rights Slipping In New Zealand post for International Women’s Day

“Sex & Power” – Women’s Participation In NZ Stalled
Another Pregnant Woman Told To Leave New Zealand: Pregnancy Now Equated To Sickness In Human Rights Abuse

Today's posts - click here