Tame Iti used to sell security to elite

The Tame Iti image in a UK security firm's advertisement, published in Salisbury Life.

Maori activist Tame Iti is upset an imposing image of him has been used in an English affluent-lifestyle magazine to advertise security systems.

The advertisement, headed with the words "How do you warn off intruders?" shows a bare-shouldered Mr Iti wielding a taiaha (spear) and poking his tongue out.

Mr Iti said he found the image offensive and was seeking legal advice.

The photo was taken a year ago by a German photographer who told him it was for a story on ta moko (Maori tattoos).

"He did not say it was for advertising and I don't like it being used in that form ... I am annoyed it was used without consultation."

The ad appears in the August issue of Salisbury Life.

According to the website of Surf Media, the magazine's publisher, "Salisbury Life reaches into the most affluent homes in and around Salisbury. The magazine ... is a must-read for Salisbury's high society".

A spokesman for Surf Media said last night that the advertisement depicted Iti as a defender, rather than an intruder. He referred questions over the photo to the advertiser, Wessex Fire and Security.

Wessex's Simon Morgan said the photo came from an advertising agency, which he presumed owned the copyright. "I hope he [Mr iti] doesn't think we're stereotyping him as an intruder. That's not the case."

The co-owner of design agency Ripe Ideas in Dorset, Kevin Barrett, said Mr Iti's photo was owned by Getty Images and the company had paid a fee to use it.

He said Mr Iti was supposed to be depicted as a protector.

The advertisement was part of a series that included a nightclub bouncer and a rottweiler as alternatives to burglar alarms.

"It's meant to be perceived as, 'you can do your own thing or get a professional company to install an alarm'," Mr Barrett said.

Mr Iti's concerns come as perceived Maori aggression is making waves in the sports pages of British newspapers.

A flood of criticism over the throat-slitting gesture in the All Blacks' new haka - Kapa o Pango - has prompted captain Tana Umaga to concede the gesture might be reviewed.

"That's maybe something we'll have to look at," Umaga said. "We didn't really think it would cause as much reaction.

"We've stated what it means and if people don't understand it, then what can we do?"

The gesture has been viewed as signifying the slaughter of opponents.

But Kapa o Pango's composer, Derek Lardelli, explained this year that the gesture signifies the cutting edge of sport. "The players are on the knife edge."

- Additional reporting Derek Cheng and NZPA