A giant billboard in Auckland is telling thousands of city drivers a day to get their bums to Taranaki.


The billboard is promoting Taranaki as part of AA Travel's 101 must-do weekends advertising campaign and reads: Get your bum to Taranaki.

Hanging above Newmarket's Khyber Pass Rd, the billboard is on one of Auckland's busiest routes and has raised the eyebrows of some city dwellers.

Newmarket Business Association general manager Cameron Brewer, a former Taranaki man, is amused by the billboard and is bemused some people are offended by it.

"Some precious people have rung me and told me they think the language is a bit crass for upmarket Newmarket. One person even wanted me to complain to the Auckland City Council and try to get rid of it," laughs Mr Brewer, pictured in Auckland.

"I love the billboard. In fact people have suggested I was the one who organised it given I'm so pro-Taranaki. It makes me homesick every night I drive under it."

Mr Brewer, who grew up near Hawera, says about 60,000 cars drive down Khyber Pass Rd every day. He says the billboard is great free advertising for Taranaki.

AA Tourism general manager Peter Blackwell said the whole 101 must-do campaign has the theme of "get off your bum New Zealand".

"The premise is we spend enough time on our bums on the couch, so people need to get out there in the world and get off their bums," said Mr Blackwell, who also used to live in Taranaki. He said the AA hadn't received any complaints about the billboards but there had been some about the television advertising.