House on Hood's promotion has had mixed reviews, with some Kiwis quite upset at the flippant post. Photo / Facebook, House on Hood
A Hamilton bar has come back with a follow-up Corona promotion after their previous controversial post making light of the coronavirus had been axed by their distributor.
Yesterday, On the House on Hood Facebook page, the bar had a promotion for $6.50 Coronas and a free one-metre pizza on Friday, as long as the coronavirus "pandemic lasts".
"Virus or no virus, we still think Coronas are pretty great," the post read.
"Mention your corona loving mates to let them know about this great deal and you could be sharing a free one-metre pizza this Friday at House."
It also includes a photo of two men wearing boiler suits and gas masks while holding up Coronas.
The coronavirus has killed at least 170 people and has infected at least 7892 people across the world.
In a statement and on a Corona NZ Facebook comment, Lion - which distributes Corona in New Zealand - said it was unaware of the promotion and does not condone the post.
"We have been in touch with the venue and asked that it be discontinued."
Now in a follow-up Facebook post, the bar has shared a photo of a Corona bottle with the words "Let's be honest there are worse thing you can catch in Hamilton ... "Coronas still $6.50 all summer long."
This promotion has been well received compared to the original post, with people commenting using laughing emojis and writing that "this ad is even better".
The original social media post, which has since been taken down, had mixed reviews from Kiwis, with some very upset at it.
"Shame on you guys for this post House on Hood. The world is literally suffering and we've been blessed enough that we are still safe here. It's not funny at all," one person wrote.
Another agreed: "How on earth do you think this is OK?! You wouldn't run a '$6.50 on all Aussie beers for the entire bushfire season' so why is this okay?!"
While another wrote: "That's disgusting. I'm so embarrassed right now."
John Lawrenson, CEO of the Lawrenson Group, which owns the House on Hood, told the Herald in a statement: "The great thing about living in today's society is that there is a small but loud minority of people who get offended by everything and I can always rely on them to get triggered.
"So I'd just like to say thanks to all the snowflakes for the free advertising and thanks to everyone else with a sense of humour who liked the post."
Other people shared their appreciation of the promotion, labelling it the "best marketing ever".