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Auckland International Airport officials say they're not lacking in humour despite putting the kibosh on a billboard of a lacy bra-clad Australian model clutching a stuffed rhino and saying "Feeling horny?"
The billboard, for lingerie company Lovable and featuring Australia's former Miss Universe Jennifer Hawkins, was declined by the airport who felt it was a "step too far".
"The bottom line is the airport has a vast array of people of different nationalities, different ages, and our view was that it was just not in keeping with general airport image and brand," the airport's general manager retail Nick Forbes told NZPA.
Despite that Mr Forbes, an Australian, felt it was unfair to say airport management lacked a sense of humour.
"If you straw-polled most of the people around our office they just had a good laugh and think it's great," he said.
"On a personal level I don't really have an issue and not many people probably do but we've got to try and be sensitive."
Mr Forbes said the airport had had billboards in the past that some found inappropriate and wanted to tread carefully.
The airport had declined "very little" advertising.
"That one was maybe just one step too far."
The lingerie billboard is not the first airport billboard in New Zealand to raise eyebrows.
Wellington Airport declined to display a National party billboard featuring Helen Clark and saying "Paintergate, Corngate, Doonegate, Speedgate, Pledgegate, Departure gate".
DB also pulled one of its Tui billboards from nearby Wellington Airport after controversy over it taking a stab at Air New Zealand and Qantas' plans to code-share on trans-Tasman routes.
In December, the Advertising Standards Complaints Board upheld a complaint about a Christchurch billboard for cars which featured a hitchhiking woman in cut-off jeans "dying for a shag".
It showed an image of a late model car beside a partial image of a "long legged woman in a brief pair of shorts" who appeared to be hitching a ride.
The heading of the billboard read, "Drive Bling Bling, Get Bang Bang!"
- NZPA
