Cup words ban blows charity's poster

By PETER CALDER

America's Cup organisers have taken the wind out of the sails of a church charity's fundraising drive by forbidding it to use the words "The America's Cup" in one of its posters.

The Methodist Mission, which offers budgeting advice and social services to hundreds of homeless and low-income people in central Auckland, used the words - which are a licensed trademark - on one of four posters it had prepared for a pre-Christmas publicity drive.

It shows a group tucking in to one of the 30,000 midday meals served in the past year at the mission's Queen St headquarters. In the foreground a diner holds up a cheap mug emblazoned with the American flag.

"The America's Cup?" the legend asks pointedly, while the small print below outlines the "greater challenge" of city poverty "which few people dare to acknowledge."

But the regatta organiser, AC2000, which controls the use of the cup's image and name, forbade the use of the words and the $5000 worth of posters have had to be destroyed.

The executive director of AC2000, Alan Sefton, said the organisation was the trustee of the America's Cup charged with protecting the marks - the cup's image and name - on behalf of "the America's Cup community worldwide" and it was not possible to make exceptions for non-profit organisations.

The Methodist Missioner, Charlie Fenwick, said the mission was not negative about the cup.

"A lot of the people we budget for and who are struggling will be wearing red socks and will get a kick out of the cup.

"There's no way I want to be seen as moaning about the cup. I just wish that the energy and expertise that is available for that were able to stretch to care about fellow New Zealanders."