Brockovich forces NZ firm to drop 'sexist' ad

The Bond and Bond advert which offended Erin Brockovich (left).

American campaigner Erin Brockovich, famous for her victory over a US power company, has forced a New Zealand retailer to scrap a sexist advertisement after branding it insulting to women.

Brockovich was outraged by a Bond and Bond advertisement that said: "Government says fridges are better younger. Just like women really."

The 47-year-old environmental advocate, whose story inspired the hit movie Erin Brockovich, is fronting a TV advertising campaign for Bond & Bond's sister company Noel Leeming. The firms are both owned by the Noel Leeming Group.

Brockovich, who as a single mother given a job by a law firm exposed a giant Californian company for polluting a residential area's water supply, told the Herald she contacted Noel Leeming Group and expressed her outrage and disappointment.

She described the Bond & Bond advertisement as inappropriate, in poor taste and reflecting poorly on women.

"I called Noel Leeming's parent company, which owns Bond & Bond, and expressed my outrage and my disappointment in them for running such an advertisement.

I demanded its retraction and they agreed to do so.

"I don't condone these types of ads, but I do applaud the company for listening, admitting their mistake and making an apology."

Brockovich said Bond & Bond had promised it would not run the ad, or any other that was in poor taste, again.

"For the women and men of New Zealand who wrote to me to bring this situation to my attention, I thank you.

"I hope that this will be a first step of many for one of your country's major retailers to take responsibility and act with integrity towards all people."

Noel Leeming Group chief executive Andrew Dutkiewicz said his company received 23 complaints about the advertisement.

He said it was designed to run only once. "Bonds has a campaign which is irreverent and cheeky and the intent always is to make people laugh, not offend. I think in this case it went one step too far. I can understand why some people were offended so we'll just put that in our book of learning."

Mr Dutkiewicz said the incident had been embarrassing for Noel Leeming Group, but wouldn't damage its relationship with Brockovich.

"We agreed that Erin could say what she wanted and she has come out and told us that in her opinion the ad had gone too far and we've taken that on board and recognised it and agreed with her.