Car rental company Wicked Campers has repeatedly refused to engage with the many complaints about its offensive branding, the advertising watchdog says.
Photo: NZ Classification Office
The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld yet another complaint against the company, which is known for the sexual and drug-themed slogans painted on the outside of its campervans.
The latest complaint was about a slogan written across the back of one of the vehicles, stating: "Ninety % of preists [sic] who try camels prefer boys."
The complainant said they found the statement "offensive and extremely poor in taste" and that it trivialised the rape of young boys.
"I don't want to see it in New Zealand. That is not who we are," the complainant said.
The authority's complaints board agreed, saying the slogan offended against prevailing community standards, "particularly with regard to illegal sexual behaviour".
It had "not been prepared with a due sense of social responsibility to consumers and to society," the board ruled.
In its ruling, the authority noted that Wicked Campers had again failed to respond to a complaint.
"The Complaints Board noted this particular advertiser has continuously failed to respond to numerous complaints," it said.
"It also expressed its concern at the advertiser's repeated refusal to engage with and respect the principles of self-regulation."
Since 2015, 20 complaints have been made to the authority about Wicked Campers, 16 of which have been upheld.
The Classification Office has also classified five Wicked campervans as objectionable, meaning they have been banned.
RNZ has contacted Wicked Campers for a response.