Tui pulls out of meeting with feminist group over 'sexist' ad

The Tui beer ads have offended Feminist Action. Picture / Supplied

Tui has cancelled today's (Wed) planned meeting with a feminist group to discuss a television advert it branded sexist, telling the group to instead direct its concerns to the Broadcasting Standards Authority.

Auckland Feminist Action said it was "disappointed'' after a Tui beer spokesperson pulled out of the meeting in which a group representative wanted to discuss their concerns about the television advert.

In the ad, three men sneak into a brewery and outwit scantily clad women to steal boxes of beer.

"If you look at the advert in its entirety, it's demeaning women, it's showing women as just a collection of body parts, it's saying that it is OK to value women on how they look - that's the only value women have in that ad. That has a very corrosive effect on women's self-worth,'' group spokesperson Leonie Morris said last week.

Tui defended the adverts, but had agreed to meet with the group to discuss its complaint.

The meeting was due to take place this afternoon.

Ms Morris today received an email from Tui marketing manager Jarrod Bear saying he was "no longer able to meet''.

"They don't want to meet us at all, and have referred us to the Advertising Standards Authority now,'' Ms Morris said.

``All last week and all this week they were keen to speak to us _ now they don't want to.''

In a message to APNZ, Tui spokesman Jarrod Bear said he was busy with several meetings and was no longer able to meet Ms Morris.

The Tui advertising campaigns adhered to advertising codes and that the company had received "overwhelming support from NZ public'', said Mr Bear.

"She could channel her organisation's concerns through to Advertising Standards Authority.''

Ms Morris was undeterred.

She said the group would continue to put pressure on Tui to remove the ads, which the group claim "demean and belittle women''.

"After they put up billboards 'Having a beer with the Auckland Feminist Group would be fun, yeah right' - they then agreed to meet us. Now that they have cancelled the meeting we assume they agreed to meet us only as a PR exercise and then this morning their PR consultants changed their minds.''