Harambe used for guerrilla marketing

The 'Ticks out for Harambe' election hoarding on Queens Drive in Invercargill. Photo / Allison Beckham, Southland Express

A world-renowned gorilla wants a say on how Invercargill is run - at least according to election hoardings.

A sign for Harambe the gorilla was spotted among billboards for local election candidates in Invercargill and posted to the Reddit New Zealand page.

Harambe was shot after a three-year-old boy fell into his enclosure at Cincinnati Zoo this year and the gorilla dragged him through the enclosure by his ankles.

The Harambe election hoarding. Photo / Allison Beckham, Southland Express

The death of the gorilla inspired many internet memes including a petition launched in August aimed at having Harambe live on as a Pokemon.

Angela Newell, whose election hoarding sits next to Harambe's, said she was amused by the sign.

She said anything that encouraged people to vote was positive.

"I'm wondering if the initiators behind the sign are people who want to draw attention to voting and getting people to be aware of the elections and all that."

She said she also wondered if the Harambe sign was a play on the idea of guerrilla marketing, which was about using low cost publicity to drive a message.

Harambe was the silverback gorilla from Cincinnati Zoo. The gorilla was shot dead during the rescue of the boy. Photo / File

"I just wondered if there was any pun intended with that... Or maybe they confused what guerrilla marketing was about."

Newell said she understood there were other Harambe signs around the city.

"I guess any sort of publicity that draws attention to the fact that there's an election on has got to be good because many people may have not even realised that their voting papers are sitting in their mail box."

Newell is running for the Invercargill Licensing Trust.