Lobby group claims support for muzzling Wicked Campers

Family First NZ launched a campaign last month encouraging families to take a photo of the artwork on a Wicked Camper vehicle and then make a complaint to the local council.

Family First director Bob McCoskrie says many complaints have been made and politicians have verbally rebuked the company for its offensive messaging which has been labelled sexist, misogynist and racist.
“Many families have been offended by the offensive signs on Wicked Campers that travel around NZ but have felt powerless to stop them. Finally, politicians are realising that they need to be part of the solution in response to the concerns of families,” Mr McCoskrie says.
“We would argue that any public advertising should be G-rated and suitable for children to view. It is vital that families continue to speak up rather than accept offensive material and the sexualisation of girls and women in the media and on billboards and vehicles.”
Family First NZ is calling for the Government to review and tighten codes around television advertising, billboards and outdoor advertising, including pre-vetting of advertising to ensure it meets appropriate standards.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/lobby-group-claims-support-muzzling-wicked-campers
Government set to crack down on ‘hugely offensive’ Wicked Camper slogans
TVNZ One News 21 March 2016
The government is looking at ways of cracking down on a campervan company who use offensive slogans and artwork to decorate their vehicles.
Fining Wicked Campers and banning their offensive vehicles from camping grounds is being considered.
Minister for Women Louise Upston says the government is looking at options.
“The community has made is very, very clear that those sorts of slogans are hugely offensive,” Ms Upston said.
“At best some of them might be mildly amusing but the vast majority of them are highly offensive.
READ MORE: https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/government-set-crack-down-hugely-offensive-wicked-camper-slogans?autoPlay=4808917658001
Outrage after Paula Bennett told a ‘bit of sexual violence never hurt anyone’
NZ Herald 21 March 2016
The man who trolled Associate Tourism minister Paula Bennett over her charge against the sexist slogans used by Wicked Campers says he was just joking.
John Lehmann wrote on Ms Bennett’s Facebook page that a “bit of sexual violence never hurt anyone”, sparking outrage from anti-violence campaigners.
Ms Bennett is trying to find the best way to get the troubling sexist advertisements on the Wicked Campers off the road.
These include going to the the Office of Film and Literature to rule on the offensive slogans nd imposing stiff five-figure fines or even jail time if rulings were breached.
READ MORE: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11608971
HERALD EDITORIAL: Campervan slogans stain on landscape
NZ Herald 21 March 2016
Witty messages on the back of a vehicle can be amusing for fellow commuters or travellers. Not so, however, those displayed on the paintwork of the campervan company Wicked Campers.
Its messages, of the kind reported in yesterday’s Herald on Sunday, are the kind of thing that appeal only to immature or misogynistic minds and are unlikely to be amusing to most people in a following car. They are simply offensive.
Among women who find it so are Cabinet members Paula Bennett, an Associate Minister of Tourism; Louise Upston, Minister for Women; and Maggie Barry, whose Conservation portfolio includes camps where these lurid vans with their juvenile humour pollute a pleasant environment.
These women are well placed to do something about it, and they should. (To suggest, however, that only women find the messages appalling is wrong.)
Ms Bennett says she has suggested to Justice Minister Amy Adams the Advertising Standards Authority be given added powers to control this sort of car signage.
READ MORE: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11608937