Move aside Green Party, there's a new mean green political machine taking Auckland by storm.
Epsom residents have been seeing a rather familiar yet unusual global movie star putting his name up to become their electorate's next member of parliament, going head to head with Act Party leader David Seymour.
As the election nears, "Shrek" appears to have put himself in the running after election billboards featuring the green ogre have started popping up around Remuera.
A number of billboards for the Vote Shrek 2020 campaign have appeared on Shore Rd, giving locals something to smile about.
The billboards feature a number of cheeky slogans, including "You can't spell Progress without Ogre", "Fix the Wreck, Vote for Shrek" and "Peel the Layers, Drain the Swamp".
It told the Herald it does not believe it was intended to mislead the voter.
"It's doubtful this is a fake electoral billboard since its intent is clearly to make the voter laugh, rather than mislead the voter."
It's not the first time a famous character has sought the votes of New Zealanders.
In 2019, a jokester from West Auckland created a splash after posting up a local election billboard asking residents to vote for Animal from The Muppets.
In a billboard posted along a road in Swanson, Animal is seen "entering" the electoral race with the words "Vote Animal, you're going to get a muppet anyway" plastered across the bottom.
West Auckland had a new 'candidate' in 2019. Photo / Facebook
Numerous locals snapped a photo of the billboard and praised Animal for "keeping it real" in a time where trust in politicians and local representatives is waning.
"Truest thing I've seen on a billboard," one local man said.
Animal's effort in the race came days after a Tauranga local put up a joke billboard pretending to be running for council.
Mark Sheaff gate-crashed the Tauranga local elections, earning praise for a humorous take on candidate billboards with the catchphrase "I'll do my best but I can't promise anything".
The man behind the billboard was reluctant to speak to the Herald about his faux election campaign but agreed the billboard had proved a hit.
A 'local council' billboard in Tauranga went viral on social media as Kiwis across the country praised the man's "voteworthy" campaign.
"It has obviously hit a chord with a whole bunch of different characters."
Earlier this year a Waitaki candidate gave an honest account of his credentials ahead of the election.
Daniel Shand, whose first billboard went up in Wānaka in August, says he doesn't know anything about politics but is keen to give it a go.
In a letter to the Waitaki electorate, which has also been posted on the "Vote Daniel Shand" Facebook page, the candidate says he doesn't currently have any positions.
"I'll make something up later. Politicians don't normally do what they say anyway," he wrote.
Daniel Shand is asking for people's votes, saying he'd 'probably make a pretty good MP'. Photo / Vera Alves
"Ring me up and tell me what you want and I'll probably just do that," the aspiring MP added.
"I don't know anything about politics, but as this never stops anyone else from getting involved in government so I'll give it a go. It seems the less experience you have the better you'll do.
"I'm not going to give any speeches, I don't want to tell people what to do. I want them to tell me what to do."
