Mike Hutcheson: Marketing expert on Tui's Polkinghorne billboard

Tui Beer are under fire after referencing Philip Polkinghorne in their latest 'Yeah right' campaign.

The new billboard reads: "Back to being a respectable meth smoking, sex worker loving doctor then. Yeah right."

Polkinghorne was acquitted last month of murdering his wife, Pauline Hanna, after an eight week long trial in the High Court at Auckland. 

Marketing expert Mike Hutcheson joins Jack Tame to discuss whether this was a bad move. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Two.

Speaker 2 (00:00):
He is under fire after referencing Philip Polkinghorn's trial in
their latest Year Right campaign, The new billboards read back
to being a respectable meth smoking, sex worker loving doctor,
then yeah right. Philip Polkinhorn was found not guilty last
month of murdering his wife Pauline Hannah, after an eight
week trial in the High Court at Auckland. Mike Hutcheson

(00:21):
is a marketing expert and his weather us this evening
keilder Mike, go your reaction to these harmless fun or
something a bit more sinister?

Speaker 1 (00:30):
No harmless fun and we don't have enough of it.
I think we just need to poke more fun. It's
an old Kiwi tradition and it's called taking the piss,
and we don't need to do more of it. We
shouldn't be too gentle about.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
It, Okay, Just to totally play Devil's advocate here, I'm
just thinking about if I was in Pauline Hannah's family
right now, how would they be feeling about it? Do
you think?

Speaker 3 (00:52):
Well, then it's not about Pauline Hannah.

Speaker 1 (00:54):
I think she was the tragic victim of a bit
of a charlatan and not a nice bloke. But I
think Watson question is a the ethics of Popinhorn himself
and also the jury system. Now, I just wonder if
but we should be able to just take the mickey
of it, if we can.

Speaker 2 (01:10):
I am just going to remind everyone he was found
not guilty after that eight week tild But I understand.

Speaker 3 (01:15):
But he wasn't sorry, it wasn't it wasn't innocent though, Well.

Speaker 2 (01:18):
He was found not guilt. Well, yes, he was found out.
He was found not guilty. And the billboard itself represent
represent you know, as you say, it is obviously about
Philip Polkinhorn rather than Pauline Hannett directly. Are those the
kind of conversations that that would be had we I mean,
I know you've you've you've got a rich history in
this in this area. Those are sort of conversations that

(01:39):
advertising musecutives have when they're pitching a campaign.

Speaker 1 (01:42):
Absolutely absolutely, and in fact that I was involved in
Charget when that whole thing began, and the I guess
it must have been late nineties, early early two thousand
and it was. It was a it was a fun project.
Everybody got involved in it. It's a kind of a
line now that belongs to New Zealand, and I like
the idea of them, you know, asking for public bidback,
and that's it's part of our tradition taking the mickey.

Speaker 2 (02:03):
It certainly has become you know, whether you love or
hate them, it's I think it's fairly earned the iconic status.
And advertising law is this kind of thing effective? Like
does it? Does it actually sell beer.

Speaker 3 (02:15):
What it did at the time?

Speaker 1 (02:17):
It certainly, and it puts the profile of the brand
up and it talks about the brand is not taking
itself too seriously. Now we're not talking about fine dining.
We're talking about in the pub with your mates and
telling a few laughs.

Speaker 3 (02:30):
And that's essentially what it's about.

Speaker 2 (02:32):
Is there a line? Is there a line? Do you
do you ever think or do you recall the time
when you think that you guys overstepped it?

Speaker 3 (02:38):
Oh, we did on a number of occasions.

Speaker 1 (02:40):
And it's it's that like it's the togs togs under
these things. Yeah, and there's there's no you couldn't legislate
for it, but you just know in your heart what's
what's decent and what's not, what's moral and what's not.
And this is I think plays to that classic key
with great story, you know, and the're fan of telling. Then,

(03:02):
before the battle at Dell elevating, General Freiburg took Monty
General Montgomery through the Kiwi lines before the battle, and
as they're going through, Monty said to Freybig.

Speaker 3 (03:13):
They're not very well disciplined.

Speaker 1 (03:14):
Owne there Freberg And he said, what do you means
so well, they're not saluting and he said no, but
if you wave to them, they'll wave back. I mean,
that's that's keywinness. Yeah, yeah, take it too seriously.

Speaker 2 (03:24):
Yeah, and look at the very least that the mere
fact that you and I are talking about this evening
is probably points to the success of this, at least
in their marketing sense. Thank you very much, Mike, appreciate
your time as always, great to chat. That's marketing expert
Mike Hutters and let us know what you think. Nine
two nine two is the text number Jacket News Talks,
HEIDB dot co dot Z twenty two past five. For
more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive. Listen live to News

(03:46):
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