Backlash at Fonterra campaign
Anti-dairying campaigners are taking to social media to criticise dairy co-operative Fonterra and its latest marketing efforts.
The ‘‘Fresh Start with Dairy’’ campaign, which launched in the first week of January, includes a series of retro-inspired posters.
The company also features former All Blacks captain and Fonterra brand ambassador Richie McCaw in its television ads.
Some have found the posters refreshing, prompting tweets such as ‘‘Some unexpectedly handsome posters for Fonterra are around the city now’’ from Wellington designer Thomas Le Bas.
But many have used the launch of the new ads to criticise Fonterra over the environmental and animal welfare effects of dairying.
Wellington writer and blogger Coley Tangerina welcomed Fonterra’s ‘‘retro marketing’’, with a touch of irony: ‘‘I wonder if they’ll bring back that 70s classic ‘being able to swim in our rivers’,’’ she tweeted.
They were not alone in their criticism: Dunedin City councillor Aaron Hawkins tweeted: ‘‘Awkward – given how much they’ve spent on them – that there’s a typo in the @fonterra ads. Cool Again? I think they meant Coal Again’’.
One dissenter went to some trouble to rewrite the text on one poster, replacing ‘‘Say cheese’’ with ‘‘Say no to cruelty’’.
Fonterra chief operating officer in global consumer and foodservice Jacqueline Chow said the campaign was designed to promote the goodness of dairy.
She said dairy was a part of the solution to malnutrition around the world, but its image in New Zealand was being affected by ‘‘dietary fads and special interest groups’’.
Last year the co-operative released a ‘‘Book of Commitments’’, which addressed the issues people often had with dairy.
In it, the company cites efforts such as managing freshwater quality on farms, reducing run-off, working with farmers to maintain high standards of animal welfare and developing renewable energy sources such as solar and geothermal while reducing reliance on coal.