Drinks firm sorry for moko marketing
Uruguayan energy drinks company, Haka Energy Drinks says it will review its use of controversial Maori imagery on its bottles and merchandise.
In a statement Haka Energy said it wanted to extend a ‘‘humble apology’’ for its marketing material which some have found offensive.
Haka’s bottles feature a highly stylised face of a Maori warrior.
‘‘It has come to our attention that some of our marketing materials have offended the Maori and New Zealanders more broadly.
‘‘We are a small, family-owned business and it was never our intention to offend anyone.’’
‘‘To address these concerns, Haka Energy will be undertaking a review of our marketing materials and approach.’’
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman said the New Zealand High Commission in Ottawa, Canada was investigating Haka Energy after being alerted by concerned expats.
Haka Energy has closed its Facebook page since a complaint from cultural advisory firm Awa Associates .
Awa Associates codirector Papatuanuku Nahi on Monday condemned the brand after seeing it on Twitter.
Nahi said Haka Energy Drinks’ apology and offer to review its marketing came too late.
‘‘An apology isn’t going to change what they’ve done,’’ Nahi said.
Haka Energy makes its drink in Uruguay and in Canada, according to its website.
Nahi said she wanted law changes that would penalise companies using Maori intellectual property.
‘‘What’s to stop it from happening again?’’ she said.
Nahi said a colleague had recently seen a brand of beer in Brazil using similar imagery to market their beer.
University of Auckland marketing professor Rod Brodie said brands had to respond quickly to criticism on social media if they were going to respond at all.
‘‘When you have a crisis like this you’ve got to act very quickly and decisively and that’s probably what’s going on at the moment, you don’t have a second chance,’’ he said.
Brodie said brands may only react or respond publicly to an issue if it affects their target market.
‘‘A big market for energy drinks is millennials, and while they’re not homogeneous, I would suspect that there’s lots of millennials that aren’t so culturally sensitive.’’