Auckland, Sept 5(ANI): An Auckland brewery's marketing campaign fronted by New Zealand fast bowler Daryl Tuffey, which takes a dig at Pakistan cricketers over match-fixing scandals, has reportedly been withdrawn after being labelled as "offensive" and "insulting".
The Moa Brewing Co. had launched the ad campaign dubbed "The Moa Pakistani Backhander", which detailed an offer to consumers for one free case of beer for every 10 purchased, and likened the deal to numerous incidents involving match-fixing scandals featuring the Pakistan cricket team.
"Pakistanis love cricket and they love making money. Sometimes they combine the two with a good old Pakistani Match Fix so that the Black Caps get to win a game and the Pakistanis get a big cheque from the TAB," the online brewery advert had stated.
"It's a win-win all round and we here at Moa love the business principles behind it, which is why we're offering a Pakistani Backhander of our own."
"So, for every 10 cases of Moa ordered, the contact person who does the ordering, that's you, gets 10 per cent of the match fee - a free case of Moa beer for themselves that we don't tell anyone about... "Is this ethical? No. Is it Pakistani? Yes!" it added.
Dunedin-based former Pakistan cricketer, Kahlid 'Billy' Ibadulla, had earlier said that he found the campaign "quite insulting and quite offensive".
"I think the whole campaign is in a very bad taste. It does not reflect well on New Zealand," Ibadulla had said.
Talking about Tuffey's involvement in the campaign, he said: "It is disappointing, especially coming from a former Test player. It will not reflect very well on New Zealand Cricket."
However, both Tuffey and the brewing company had stood by the campaign, saying that it was based on proven facts.
"We are not out to offend anyone," said Tuffey, who has been employed by the brewery for the past two months.
"In some ways, after what has happened over the past two years [the campaign] is not too far from the truth to be honest. They [Pakistan] have set the benchmark really ... it is unfortunate that two or three of their players have been done over the last 12 months," he had added.
Tuffey had also said that it has been "etched into cricket that the Pakistanis are rolling around match-fixing."
When asked if it could result in an on-field backlash next time he played Pakistan, Tuffey said: "If I get a few extra bouncers because someone in Karachi or Lahore has heard about the Moa campaign, then we have done pretty well with Moa... We just hope they buy our beer so they can bowl me a couple of bouncers. If they are drinking our beer, it is even better." (ANI)
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