KEY POINTS:
Ginger-haired Kiwis may see red over a new ad campaign which, yet again, mocks "gingas" for laughs.
But this time the auburn-tinted stars of the show are some rare Sumatran tiger cubs born at Auckland Zoo in June.
The Zoo's latest billboards promoting the tiny tigers are headlined: "At last, a cute ginger", above a photograph of a wide-eyed baby cub.
The ads, which are currently on billboards at the zoo and bus stops around Auckland, are designed by agency Ogilvy Metro.
The "ginge ad" as Damon O'Leary, one of its creators, calls it, is the latest in a growing line of campaigns that take the mickey out of redheads.
"It's just a joke on the current trend of 'gingers' not being seen as totally cute in the usual, humanistic sense, but as a tiger cub you can't help but think they're cute."
It is a trend which has got online messageboards clamouring to defend strawberry blondes.
"I believe we need to fight back, all Gingers need to re-unite, be proud and stand as one," rallied redhead Robin, on the Herald website.
Other advertisements have seen a number of complaints to broadcasting authorities on the basis of hair colour discrimination.
Recent TV ads such as the Refreshingly Ginger ads for Frank ginger beer, one of which features a gang of four red-haired boys being applauded by a crowd of people, and a Coruba advertisement showing a woman yelling at a ginger-haired boy to "get your pale, freckled hands off me" have attracted complaints.
A complaint against the Coruba television commercial was upheld in 2004 as taking "ginger-bashing" a step too far.
Simply Red singer Mick Hucknall joined the fight earlier this year, claiming that ginger jibes are as bad as racism.
O'Leary defended the ad as "just a gentle bit of humour" and played on the fact that the cubs are cute, but dangerous.
"We wanted to make people laugh, and at the same time convey just how precious and endangered Sumatran tigers are," said Abi Smith, spokesperson for Auckland Zoo.
Smith said they were currently printing posters of the ads after enquiries from the public.
The tiger cubs featured in the ads are not Auckland's own - the campaign was developed before their birth, and since then the cubs have not been seen in public.
Now 11 weeks old, the two male and a female are not yet on display, but are expected to be out and about from mid-September. In the meantime, the zoo has set up a "cub cam" for eager animal lovers.
Well-known red-haired Kiwis are divided over the billboards.
Peta Mathias, chef: "I'm not a natural redhead, but I choose to be because it's so cute! People want to be redheads - as soon as they start going grey, they want to be blondes or redheads. Redheads have always been mocked, that's nothing new, but I don't take offence at all. There are a lot more important things to be upset about - you can easily change the colour of your hair."
Te Radar, comedian: "I think the ad sounds funny. Ginger-bashing is one of the last vestiges of genetic mockery. And orangutans are ginger - you find me someone who doesn't like an orangutan, I'll find you someone with a mental disorder. Everyone likes the cute little gingers. There are some people who get a little bit upset about it, but what can you do? Dye your hair."
Geraldine Brophy, actress: "I think there is a deep-seated fundamental fear of the redhead; it reminds people of fire, which makes people more wary, and many of the great conquering races were reds... We poke... fun at something just before we decide it's cool. So I'm waiting to become fashionable."
* www.aucklandzoo.co.nz
