KEY POINTS:
A billboard in Central Auckland that used a Maori word to allude to a swear word has upset tangata whenua.
The Ace Rental Cars billboard on Parnell Rise read: "Whakamaru, Whakatane, Whakamoa ... Rent a car from only $25 a day. So you can visit any whaka."
The Maori Language Commission complained to the Advertising Standards Authority after TVNZ's Maori news programme Te Karere featured a story on the billboard. The commission says it was highly offensive that Ace used Maori to curse.
If the advertisement was entirely in English it would breach advertising standards, said commission chief executive Huhana Rokx.
"Ace Rental Cars are inappropriately using te reo Maori to circumvent these standards.
"Clearly the presence of this billboard proves that in some sectors of New Zealand society, ignorance and lack of regard for Maori language persist, and while we have come a long way, the struggle continues."
Kelli Sullivan of Ace said the company removed the board yesterday after hearing of the complaint.
The billboard was made by advertising company Publicis Mojo about two years ago but was put up only at the beginning of this month, she said.
"It was just a bit of a chuckle, certainly not at anyone's expense. It was not targeted at any particular group.
"It was a play on words.
"We apologise. We didn't mean any offence."
Advertising Standards Authority executive director Hilary Souter said it had had one complaint about the ad.
She said the complaint would still go to the authority's chairman.
