'Cheeky' Mehrts sells hometown delights

In rugby circles he is already well-known for being unashamedly parochial about his hometown.

Now All Black legend Andrew Mehrtens is taking his message to the North Island as part of a $500,000 tourism campaign to promote Christchurch as a "sophisticated, vibrant and relaxed" domestic destination.

The Canterbury first-five kicked off the six-month promotion yesterday and will be the face of the campaign on billboards and buses nationwide.

They feature Mehrtens experiencing the best of Christchurch. That includes its art and culture as well as its rugby team.

He was perfect for the role, says Christchurch & Canterbury Marketing (CCM) chief Ian Bougen.

"He's intelligent, friendly and cheeky, and he personifies our city as we know it. All New Zealanders know he's passionate about his hometown."

While the wit of Mehrts will add a bit of fun to the campaign, the message CCM wants to give is sincere.

"Market research has shown the campaign was necessary to boost Christchurch's image as a weekend or short-break destination, particularly among North Islanders who have not experienced the city in recent years," Mr Bougen said.

Other Cantabrians are also happy to deliver the message across the country.

Yesterday, Liz and Steve Bent and children left town to experience life on the road with Mehrts' mug plastered on the back of their house bus.

10 REASONS TO LOVE CHRISTCHURCH

1. THINGS TO DO
Claybird shooting on the plains, skiing at Mt Hutt, tramping in the Alps, jetboating on the shingle-bed rivers of Canterbury. All within the time it takes to drive to Auckland Airport. No wonder the buggers are good at sport.

2. A CITY OF TWO HALVES
Yes, there's the leafy Garden City of punting on the Avon, Mona Vale and the first four ships. But this is also the city of Sydenham, Jim Anderton, factories and working people's clubs with Canterbury Draught signs outside. Go cloth-cap at the sort of pub that is disappearing elsewhere.

3. THE LOCALS
See the native One-Eyed Cantabrian in its natural lair. Markings: red and black, always clad in khaki slacks and blue shirt. Distinguishing characteristics: debilitating chip on shoulder that Aucklanders don't care enough about Canterbury. Beliefs: The only decent rugby is played on those dusty plains; Aucklanders are soaking up all our tax money; there are too many Asians. Tiresome after a drink.

4. CATCH A MATCH
Damn they are good. Hadlee, Cairns, Mehrtens, Colling. They do produce some greats. Hard and tough competitors. Some Auckland-Canterbury clashes have become classics. And by going there you can escape the insufferable "Go the Crusaders" mob of expat Cantabrians who live in Auckland. (Oh, and Dan Carter looks good in his knickers.)

5. THE VIEW
It's a fine-looking city. On a good day you can see the snow of the Alps, which seem to loom close. Or take a walk up the Cashmere Hills (pick your way past the place where Hume and Parker did Parker's mother's head in) and marvel at the plains spread out below or icy-blue Lyttelton Harbour behind.

6. GET GREAT LEGS
This is a city of people with sensational calves. Because it's flat, you can cycle everywhere. (For driver licence testing, they do the hill start on a slight incline over a rail line). No huffing and puffing up volcanic cones as in Auckland, just the gentle trundle down wide streets with few cars. A pedal-pusher's dream.

7. ARTY
It's got a new art gallery (a snip at $47.5 million), an arts quarter and lots of people who like to paint Mainland scenes. Pick up a picture of a barn in a norwester.

8. ANTARCTIC BLAST
To see the extraordinary Antarctic Centre and the relics of icy exploration. Inside you can get a taste of what polar weather is like. Outside, too, if it's winter.

9. WEATHER
None of this four-seasons-in-one-day malarky. Too much like multi-tasking. Down in Christchurch they like just one season at a time. It's the closest we've got to a continental climate. Winters that are cold, springs that fizz, summers that swelter in the norwesters.

10. LOCATION
Lastly, you are closer to Invercargill. Beat that.