NationStates Jolt Archive

This was just too good not to share (http://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/default.asp?id=53788&c=w).
A decision is due to be made today whether a billboard labelling President Bush an 'evil bastard' is appropriate.

The Hell Pizza billboards have been erected around Auckland and Wellington. Half of the poster is taken up with a photo of the president and the other half has the phrase 'Hell: Too Good For Some Evil Bastards.'

Outdoor Advertising New Zealand is reviewing who is behind the boards and whether the Advertising Standards Authority needs to become involved.

Hell's media manager, Matthew Blomfield, says they expected to cause a bit of a stir. He says it is meant to provoke discussion and be a little edgy, instead of bland, boring advertising.

Mr Blomfield is hoping reaction will be balanced between those who find it funny and those who are upset by it.

For the record, this would have been funny no matter who was President at the time. I'll confess to a certain added glee because of who is being referenced, but I'd laugh at the audacity no matter who it was in the ad.

That's awesome.

That's the kinda ad that will actually persuade me to buy a product, because it's funny. It's not the same old annoying advertising.

Hell's media manager, Matthew Blomfield

I broke out laughing right here.

..That's prolly one of the best ads I've ever heard of. They better put it up.

This was just too good not to share (http://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/default.asp?id=53788&c=w).


For the record, this would have been funny no matter who was President at the time. I'll confess to a certain added glee because of who is being referenced, but I'd laugh at the audacity no matter who it was in the ad.


I don't find it funny, despite being an ardent democrat. It's just not my sense of humor.

That's great, I'd buy that pizza.

I broke out laughing right here.
And I missed it completely--good eye! :D

Trust those Kiwis to come up with something like this. I'd buy the pizza, just because the ad's a classic.

I'd also buy that pizza.

Heh, you wouldn't be liking the place so much if you had to go to work there in an hour...

I broke out laughing right here.

What a fabulous job title! :)

How does this advertise their product...? :confused:

How does this advertise their product...? :confused:

You could say that about most advertising... At least it's funny. And they make damn good pizza too.

Good to see that hell are continuing on there great advertising. Just like there good pizzas. mmm there Pandemonium with cranberry sauce well i just sorted tonights dinner.

You could say that about most advertising... At least it's funny. And they make damn good pizza too.

And I say the same question about most advertising too. :p

It just blows my mind about how some will use the "sex/controversy sells" to get profits.

I'm going to order a pizza and have it shipped to Birbane because the ad is that damned good!

Good to see that hell are continuing on there great advertising. Just like there good pizzas. mmm there Pandemonium with cranberry sauce well i just sorted tonights dinner.

They have a pizza with cranberry sauce?

I've never heard of such a thing...

Hell Pizza have polls on their website where you can vote for who is more evil or likely to end up in hell, I cant confirm for a fact but I suspect the add may actually refer to one of their polls' results...

Anyway they do make great pizza, and the chicken salad is awesome!

(Mmmm chicken salad; tastes like.......chicken) ;)

Ha!!!!!! Now I have other stuff to do.... like plot against Bush. :sniper:

Muhahahahahahahahahaahahaha! Kidding. :rolleyes:

Hell Pizza have polls on their website where you can vote for who is more evil or likely to end up in hell, I cant confirm for a fact but I suspect the add may actually refer to one of their polls' results...

Anyway they do make great pizza, and the chicken salad is awesome!

(Mmmm chicken salad; tastes like.......chicken) ;)


Nah, the 'who would you send to hell first for the sin of...' ad thing was only NZ politicians.

Nah, the 'who would you send to hell first for the sin of...' ad thing was only NZ politicians.
Considering an independent media organisation cannot hold debates without being forced by the courts to include leaders of political parties that hadnt been invited, I can certainly see why Hell Pizza didnt base their billboards on the result of that poll...

I just figured maybe they'd done more polls since the ones with NZ politicians,(I've voted in two, I won a bottle of coke and a magnum ice cream but my printer doesnt work so I couldnt print the vouchers, so I couldnt get my coke or my magnum... :( )

www.hellpoll.co.nz if anyone was wondering.

Considering an independent media organisation cannot hold debates without being forced by the courts to include leaders of political parties that hadnt been invited, I can certainly see why Hell Pizza didnt base their billboards on the result of that poll...

I just figured maybe they'd done more polls since the ones with NZ politicians,(I've voted in two, I won a bottle of coke and a magnum ice cream but my printer doesnt work so I couldnt print the vouchers, so I couldnt get my coke or my magnum... :( )

Do you know the Channel Three also confirms? That TVNZ has gone so down hill, there are now actually a VERY large number of people who are watching Channel Three.

IMHO, privatise the bloody TVNZ before it loses more value.

I don't find it funny, despite being an ardent democrat. It's just not my sense of humor.

Oh pulease, grow a sense of humour three, and eat all the fruit that it bares.

Jesus Christ, I swear some people are such wowsers - I guess you also like Shandy's with only 1/4 beer!

I find more offensive the grand prize of the poll, win a trip to Hell, erg Bali. Honestly, politicians should have thick skins and be able to take this sort of thing but Bali takes enough trouble with it's tourism industry's image and probably doesn't want to be asociated with Hell like that.

Of course the real problem is the use of the word "bastard" with an actual person, regardless of the person, since Mr. Bush's parents (mother and presumptive father) were married when he was born, he is in fact technically not a bastard (illegitimate child), thus the advertising may be misleading to some people about the nature of Mr. Bush's birth. I cannot also help but wonder if they are potentially creating for themselves the right to refuse service on the basis of "evilness", this potentially can cause all sort of problems, so should be clairified before they go any further with the "too good for some evil bastards" campaign.

Heh, you wouldn't be liking the place so much if you had to go to work there in an hour...
You know you love it.

www.hellpoll.co.nz if anyone was wondering.
Thanks--I'll check it out.

Erm, seeing as it's not in America, who cares?

I certainly wouldn't, if Tony Bliar's photo was used in a similar advert.

They have a pizza with cranberry sauce?

I've never heard of such a thing...

:eek: Chicken, Cranberry and Brie is a standard pizza, heaps of pizza places do it, surely you must have tried it before??

Excellent ad! :)

:eek: Chicken, Cranberry and Brie is a standard pizza, heaps of pizza places do it, surely you must have tried it before??

It's not standard in the American midwest at all! Our craziest pizzas are mostly things like "taco pizza" and "barbecue chicken pizza," and even they are far from standard. Most pizza places around here just have, y'know, pepperoni and that sort of thing. We're boring. :p

I'd try a cranberry chicken pizza if it was available, though...

It's not standard in the American midwest at all! Our craziest pizzas are mostly things like "taco pizza" and "barbecue chicken pizza," and even they are far from standard. Most pizza places around here just have, y'know, pepperoni and that sort of thing. We're boring. :p

I'd try a cranberry chicken pizza if it was available, though...

Hell has 20 different pizzas, plus create your own and 3 dessert pizzas :D

Yeah, those bill boards were cool.

They also had a competition where you could win a "trip to hell that could last a lifetime"... the prize was a trip to bali and a boogy board. Aussies will understand the (bad taste) joke. :D

I could understand why this could be problematic in the US, but I don't see why it should be wrong to do something like this in NZ... :D

What a fabulous job title! :)Imagine applying for a new job...
"We see you've had work experience as... WHAT!?"

Should a pizza chain want the management's politics forever associated with the product ? I think this is why such behavior isn't more often seen in the United States. "Budweiser: the beer Kim Jong-Il hates."
The ad is good for attention. I dont like the politics but it's effective advertising.
Too bad the dutchman who banned french and german customers couldn't get the same apperciation. I applaud him for choosing jail over the fine on principles.

Local website www.stuff.co.nz and their take on it. It explains it a little better.

Billboard branding Bush 'evil bastard' draws complaint
12 August 2005


The Advertising Standards Authority says it will look whether its complaints board needs to consider a member of the public's concerns over pizza billboards which brand America's President George Bush as an "evil bastard".


President Bush's image is featured in commercials for the Hell Pizza Deliveries, with several slogans that include "Hell: Too Good For Some Evil Bastards," and "Even Hell Has Its Standards"

A spokeswoman for the authority said the chairman of complaints board would seek more information and decide whether the complaint needed to go to a formal hearing. If it did, a decision would be made within 20 days.

Hell Pizza has previously caused controversy with a promotion trading on the jailing of Schapelle Corby, an Australian drug smuggler recently jailed for 20 years in Indonesia.

It offered a free boogie board and a "holiday that could last a lifetime" to Bali to one lucky person who entered a poll asking which politicians should be "sent to Hell" for their sins.

The winners were told that if they returned with a picture of themselves with Corby, they would scoop an extra $500.

I knew Hell's Kitchen would have a pizza oven.

I'd buy that pizza even if it sucked. Go Hell - !

I'd buy that pizza even if it sucked. Go Hell - !


The thing is, it doesn't. Hell has a bloody good product to back up all their crazy ads. It all adds up to $$ if you can do that.

I find more offensive the grand prize of the poll, win a trip to Hell, erg Bali. Honestly, politicians should have thick skins and be able to take this sort of thing but Bali takes enough trouble with it's tourism industry's image and probably doesn't want to be asociated with Hell like that.

Of course the real problem is the use of the word "bastard" with an actual person, regardless of the person, since Mr. Bush's parents (mother and presumptive father) were married when he was born, he is in fact technically not a bastard (illegitimate child), thus the advertising may be misleading to some people about the nature of Mr. Bush's birth. I cannot also help but wonder if they are potentially creating for themselves the right to refuse service on the basis of "evilness", this potentially can cause all sort of problems, so should be clairified before they go any further with the "too good for some evil bastards" campaign.

Bastard can also be used as a generally derogatory term. The only problem with this ad campaign is that there isn't a stronger, more offensive term to use in reference to said "evil bastard".

Bastard can also be used as a generally derogatory term. The only problem with this ad campaign is that there isn't a stronger, more offensive term to use in reference to said "evil bastard".
Surely we could try, here, to come up with an equally offensive, or pronouncedly more offensive turn of phrase to describe Mr. Bush, who truly is an "evil bastard".

What say you?

I'll kick it off:

"loathesome thug"

I'm sure others can do much, much better than that.

Some enterprising soul has now tagged 'FREE SADDAM' on dubyas face on the bilboard just past the basin reserve in Wellington. Noticed it today :D

I don't recall any billboards in the US defaming the leaders of New Zealand. Doesn't speak very well for the Country of New Zealand, now does it?

Surely we could try, here, to come up with an equally offensive, or pronouncedly more offensive turn of phrase to describe Mr. Bush, who truly is an "evil bastard".

What say you?

I'll kick it off:

"loathesome thug"

I'm sure others can do much, much better than that.
Sounds like an appropriate phrase to use for liberals. Hmm. Perhaps for every derogatory and defamatory term you come up with, I'll toss one back to the demented liberals. :D

I don't recall any billboards in the US defaming the leaders of New Zealand. Doesn't speak very well for the Country of New Zealand, now does it?

Very few Americans probably know the leader of New Zealand. It doesn't speak badly of the country, it speaks badly of the company, and only if you take offense, which few people in New Zealand would.

Very few Americans probably know the leader of New Zealand. It doesn't speak badly of the country, it speaks badly of the company, and only if you take offense, which few people in New Zealand would.
Well, it offends me, and makes me think less of New Zealand and New Zelanders. It's also the sort of thing that has made the word "liberal" a cussword in many parts of the US. It's sad, demented and just plain wrong.

it is truely sad when someone can think badly of a large group of people because they don't agree with the actions of the few.

it is truely sad when someone can think badly of a large group of people because they don't agree with the actions of the few.
Yeah. Kinda like so many on here have decided they hate Americans because of a few bad apples at Abu Garhib. :rolleyes:

Well they've made more fun of local politicians with their hellpoll. (www.hellpoll.co.nz) Of course, if you're not from NZ, you probably wont get why each of them are funny.

I also remember (I'll see if I can find one at work tomorrow) a postcard that Hell sent around to people with a picture of Saddam and text along the lines of 'Goodbye Saddam, no one will take your orders now, some people don't deserve to go to Hell' (implying that Hell was too good for Saddam)

The letter I mentioned before this edit that went out to people actually went out to the winners of the 'Find Osama' competition. Osama's face was stamped onto the bottom of a few pizza boxes selected at random, and if you 'found' Osama, you went into the draw to win a petrol powered blender (It kicked ass, we tried on out). The letter said in it that hell was too good for Osama and he would instead spend an eternity eating crapper pizza like Pizza Hutt, Dominoes etc.

I would so buy that pizza. ( oh no, I ran out of stuff to say.......... )

Mr Blomfield is hoping reaction will be balanced between those who find it funny and those who are upset by it. .

But this is New Zealand. It's not like anyone there voted for him. I would think the reaction would be balanced between those who find it funny and those who don't care.