"Urban Search and Rescue member Mark Wilson said that his team were working through the night at the CTV site and one square of Fix chocolate had them bouncing off the walls," said the press release from TKO Design's Sam Pease. "Apparently it 'went down a treat with the search and rescue teams, fireman and policeman' and 'helped them stay up through the night after a day's work and only an hour or two's sleep'."
NZ Fire Service national commander Mike Hall said firefighters and USAR team members were not allowed to make product endorsements without clearance. "We'll be writing to the company asking them to withdraw any advertisement with this endorsement."
The press release was to promote a new high-energy chocolate bar called Fix, developed in the quake's aftermath.
Bull Rush founder Nadine Porter said last night that she had no idea of the way the advertising firm had intended to use the endorsement. "I am disgusted," she said. "I'm reviewing my use of TKO for my promotional work."
She had lost her shop in the earthquake, she said, and just wanted to help the recovery effort by providing what she could - some chocolate. She had given some chocolate to Ashburton USAR workers, never planning for it to be made public, and was donating 10 per cent of sales proceeds to the Earthquake Appeal.
Pease said she had heard about Mark Wilson's use of the product and had persuaded a reluctant Porter to let her mention it.
"I apologise profusely if it has offended anybody," Pease said. "That's absolutely not the intent."
Her boss, TKO managing director Kevin Fraher, was less apologetic.
He phoned last night to dissuade the Herald on Sunday from reporting the criticism: "This is the story. Bull Rush Chocolate gave their time and their energy - and they are a victim of the earthquake themselves - to help people save lives. That's the story."
He emailed later to say he too had lost his home and office in the earthquake, and the chocolate marketing campaign was only ever intended to help similarly affected Cantabrians.
Mark Wilson said yesterday that he never intended to make an endorsement on behalf of the chocolate company.
After Bull Rush gave him the chocolate to take with him to Christchurch, he received a call from TKO's Sam Pease who asked him how the chocolate had helped him. He told her it gave him an energy boost - never realising his words would be used as an endorsement.
"I'm certainly not part of any marketing scheme for Bull Rush, but they decided to give us this product," he said.
Wilson said the company would do better to keep the marketing generalised rather than focusing on a particular building.
David Beaumont said he had a lot of respect for the USAR teams, but for the advertising company to make a connection between their product and the USAR team's work at the CTV site was a step too far.
