KEY POINTS:
The Aussies are still scratching their bellies over their spoof advertisements selling an invasion of Aotearoa but a Kiwi duo have hit back.
ournz.co.nz, a site which aims at debunking the 100 per cent Pure Tourism NZ campaign, has made its own video
to call New Zealanders to arms.
One of the Australian mock ads showed troops invading New Zealand because it would lead to a public holiday in Australia. The advertisement carried the line: "The New Zealand Invasion. There's a day off in it for you."
After nzherald.co.nz reported on the tongue-in-cheek ads, the Sydney Morning Herald ran a headline reading: Kiwis get all defensive about TV invasion plot.
But now New Zealanders have gone on the attack, sort of.
Filmed on a wind-swept West Coast beach, the OurNZ video shows two Kiwis up to their waists digging a trench, similar to what their forefathers may have done on Auckland's North Head and Mt Victoria over 100 years ago.
As the black sand trench fills up with water Todd and Dave yell to passers-by to come and help them defend New Zealand.
They finish the video by turning Tourism Australia's catch-cry back on Australia: "Where the bloody hell are ya?"
One of the people behind the ad, Todd Calkin, said he and his friends love the mock invasion advertisements but New Zealand would not give up so easily.
"This country is ours and it's not here for the taking," Mr Calkin joked.
OurNZ started about a year ago and brings together hundreds of amateur videos from around the country and takes on the 100% Pure NZ campaign.
The clips include skim boarding on 90 mile beach, amateur rugby, the summit of the Remarkables. They are mostly under one minute and do not necessarily show the scenic mountain views, pristine forests and deserted golden sand beaches that can be found in tourism catalogues.
"For too long, 100 per cent Pure has only shown a slice of what we're actually about in this country, whereas OurNZ is giving every New Zealander a voice to say what they actually love," Mr Calkin said.