All Blacks fans urged to abstain from sex

[blueandblack]

New Zealand fans will be urged to abstain from sex during the rugby World Cup in a campaign to be fronted by former All Blacks captain Sean Fitzpatrick.

The campaign put the All Blacks at the centre of a new public relations controversy, the New Zealand Herald reported today.

The New Zealand Rugby Union is understood to have been irritated by the supposedly humorous Telecom-backed campaign, although it supported it in a statement last night.

"Abstain for the All Blacks" would start next week and is being driven by the official All Blacks' fan site, BackingBlack which was sponsored by Telecom.

The campaign asks fans to avoid sex during the World Cup to support the team.

The campaign would be fronted by Fitzpatrick and those participating would get a black rubber finger-ring to show they had signed up for the campaign.

Organisers hope the rings will galvanise fans the way Sir Peter Blake's red socks motivated fans for New Zealand's successful America's Cup yachting campaigns.

A marketing man who knew of the campaign said Telecom's advertising agency, Saatchi & Saatchi, expected it to be controversial and he said it was "a bloody embarrassment. The rest of the world will take the piss out of us."

The campaign will run in various media and posters urging fans to "Touch, pause and don't engage" would appear in bus shelters.

Telecom director of marketing Kieren Cooney said the new campaign was intended to be "tongue-in-cheek" and was based on what they thought was New Zealand humour.

NZRU commercial manager, Paul Dalton, was asked if the All Blacks would abstain from sex.
He said their match preparations were not built around sponsors' advertising campaigns and the two should not be confused. .

[jono]

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiight

[Burgs]

Just look at the campaign leaders melon, that should be a good enough "cold spoon"...

See, didn't even go there with the whole devastated sheep thing...oops...

[jargan83]

Baa-aaah

[beige]

Big deal, I'm already abstaining for the Wallabies

[Darren]

choke the chicken instead - good practice for them...

[jono]

Big deal, I'm already abstaining for the Wallabies

but beige, is that by choice?

[shasta]

but beige, is that by choice?

Not much gets past you, eh jono.

[beige]

but beige, is that by choice?

Implied? Or implode?

[jargan83]

Implied? Or implode?

Wonders Lisa? Or Blunders?

[AndyS]

I've spent years encouraging some Kiwis I know not to breed. Mind you, just not what you need when sharing a pub with them up the sharp end of the tournament - seven weeks of accumulated frustration waiting to boil over (if they lose) or a hair trigger (if they win).

[benny]

But can we still call the All Blacks a bunch of "tossa's" still ??

[Hansie]

ABs taining Tossa's....

[Stone Cold]

Hope this is not the case. A whole nation of frustration and pent up aggression might be a bit much to take...

[GIGS20]

I note with interest that they have said abstain for the duration of the cup not until New Zealand win a World Cup

The country would die out completely if that's the case