Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern features in a viral video campaigning against New Zealand being left off world maps by thoughtless coffee chains, retailers and even sports teams.
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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern stars in a viral campaign against New Zealand being left off world maps.
The sin is so widespread that it even has its own dedicated forum on social media website Reddit.
In the video, Ardern joins forces with Kiwi comedian Rhys Darby to unravel the “conspiracy” and explore ways to reverse it.
Darby singles out Vancouver International Village, Starbucks and IKEA for committing the gaffe and speculates whether Australia or England’s rugby team could be plotting to erase the island country.
“I’ve boiled it down to a few things. Australia wants our tourists, England want to get rid of the All Blacks, and the wine industry: they can’t beat our Pinot or Sav!” Darby tells Ardern.
The Kiwi government went as far as to include a cheeky 404 error message on its website, saying "something's missing" and that "we can't find the page you're looking for" with a picture of the world map — without New Zealand.
Others took to social media to post maps that are missing New Zealand.
Called #GetNZontheMap, the New Zealand government's video was released this week on social media as part of a tourism campaign and it has since racked up over 750,000 views and 11,000 shares on Facebook.
In a post on her public Facebook page, Ardern writes: “Admit it. You’ve noticed the absence of New Zealand on world maps before too. Some call it a conspiracy (I’m looking at you @Rhys Darby) some call it negligent...either way it’s time for a wee campaign! Help us #getNZonthemap.”