Ad was ‘irresponsible’

The plan change also creates two new zones in Stokes Valley, Taita, Naenae, Avalon/Park Ave, Epuni, Waterloo, Waiwhetu/Woburn and Wainuiomata.

One would be a new Suburban Mixed Use Activity Area, which would allow three-storey buildings with shops and cafes on the ground floor, and apartments or offices above. The other, next to the mixed-use area, would allow residential buildings (such as townhouses, terraced houses, apartment buildings) up to three storeys.

The new zones are close to shops, schools, public transport and with access to parks.

Real estate agent Rupert Kemeys predicted it would take a few years for the new rules to take effect but said overall it was a positive move for the city.

An advertiser has been ordered to remove an ad from a dairy that declared: ‘‘Icecream makes you happy.’’

The ad displaying three types of Streets icecreams was on the outside wall of the Tui Crescent Foodmarket in Whangarei.

The order for its removal came after a resident complained to the Advertising Standards Authority that the ad was ‘‘extremely irresponsible’’ given obesity and mental health issues in New Zealand.

In their complaint, they said the idea that ‘‘icecream makes you happy’’ promoted an unhealthy relationship with food.

Unilever Australasia, which owns the Streets brand, said the ad was installed more than five years ago and was used on storefronts at multiple locations. It said ‘‘icecream makes you happy’’ was a ‘‘puffery’’ statement – an ‘‘exaggerated, fanciful or vague statement that no reasonable person could possibly treat seriously or find misleading’’.

‘‘Consumers will not reasonably interpret the advertisement that eating Paddle Pop, Magnum or Splice increases their level of happiness in a measurable way, or that it provides nutritional value that is beneficial to their health,’’ the company said.

But in its decision, the authority upheld the complaint, saying the implicit claim that there is a link between icecream and happiness could potentially undermine the health and wellbeing of consumers.

The large size of the advertisement and its location on the outside of the store were also considered in its decision.

Unilever Australasia appealed the decision. has