OUR VIEW: Brewery has a sense of humour - Yeah Right

The advertising campaign is world famous in New Zealand.
Everyone knows the Tui billboards and their Yeah Right punchline - they have seen them on the roadside, in print, and on television.
Many of us have chuckled at their humour and the points they make.
But now the Tui billboards are embroiled in a stoush in Tauranga - and it seems no one is laughing.
This paper yesterday carried the story of how brewery giant DB Breweries has warned a small Bethlehem church it is trespassing on hallowed ground by erecting a sign similar to its Tui "Yeah Right" billboards.
Six weeks ago, Bethlehem Community Church put up the sign reading: "Atheists have nothing to worry about! Yeah Right".
DB's response was to have legal counsel contact the church to inform it of the laws surrounding trademark, which covered the "look and feel" of the billboards, such as the phrasing and colours.
The church maintains it is not offending or denigrating DB or Tui in any way and accuses the brewery of lacking humour and wanting to just make money.
DB insists it has a sense of humour but is concerned organisations, including other churches, are using the format to push their own messages.
"Ultimately, you can't have people going around all the time using your trademark," a spokesperson says.
Clearly the number of people jumping on the bandwagon has struck a nerve deep in the offices of DB because Bethlehem Community Church has been putting up Tui-style billboards for eight years.
It has received media publicity before - but never drawn reaction from the brewery like this.
This is not the first time the Tui billboards have struck controversy.
Another on religion attracted plenty of complaints in 2008.
"Let's take a moment this Christmas to think about Christ ...Yeah Right - Tui" went to No 1 on the Advertising Standards Authority's hate list, with 86 complaints saying it was offensive to Christians, as was the alcohol-religion link.
Tui also brewed up a fight with "Sure, I've got ten minutes to talk about Jehovah" billboard, which was ninth in the top 10 complaints.
In this new case, it is easy on one level to sympathise with DB. After all, if it doesn't protect its brand, no one else will.
It would be fair enough to hit back if other businesses were trying to cash in on their trademark.
But the company has done itself no favours by being so hard on a little community church.
On the contrary, DB should see that a church copying its format is a form of flattery and free, extra promotion.
DB should check its sense of humour - and take a hard look at its public relations advisers.