For a furry little puppet, Rico has sure had more than his share of attention.
In case you've missed the news - or don't have access to the internet - Rico is Air New Zealand's relatively new mascot. The creator of The Muppets, Jim Henson, made the puppet, which is
an indeterminate creature of vaguely Latin American origins.
Air NZ started using him in internet clips that went viral and attracted a heap of attention; he graduated to a safety video; and now Rico has gone mainstream. Hundreds of people even entered a win-a-Rico-T-shirt competition through this paper in recent days.
The problem with Rico is he polarises. He is either a sleazy lounge lizard or a wonderfully irreverent invention.
Credit where it is due. Though we don't know how much Rico cost to be created, we have to nod our head to the wise people in the Air NZ marketing department. For very little cost, they have managed to get their "man" on television sets, on thousands of computer screens and in newspapers across the country. For brand recognition, Rico has been a winner.
But that doesn't mean he's been a winner for everyone. Rico is risque. "I love her bush - it's amazing" and "I spent my time beating off the track in many place" are two of his lines when describing New Zealand's physical delights.
It's basic, smutty humour that people can take offence at. Some have - and have threatened to take their airfares elsewhere.
Air NZ management maintains the detractors are a minority, and the volume of comments to us and on social networks like Facebook tend to support that view.
It's easy to dismiss those upset as politically correct and lacking a sense of humour. Yet those who rail against Rico are potential customers with potential dollars to add to the bottomline. In the current environment, any business that can afford to deliberately turn off consumers must be doing awfully well. All power to Air NZ if that is the case.
