Xena not as Kiwi as lamb

By Philippa Stevenson


HAMILTON - Before Xena, before bungi jumping, even before the All Blacks, and especially before Saatchi, there were sheep.

And now there is Sam, their Lambassador.

Warm, woolly, cuddly and representing 47 million New Zealanders, Sam is ready to serve his homeland on the international stage - and at a fraction of the $50 million cost of recently touted tourism promotions.

Sam the Lamb has been around for 10 years, a product of the fertile brain of Hamilton freelance marketer Nick Kearney and designer Cameron Chittock, who created Sam's $10,000 costume.

"Advertising agencies are trying to market the country as on the edge, a land of bungi jumpers and daredevils, but most people overseas think of us as a country full of sheep," Mr Kearney said.

He believes Sam could be to New Zealand what Mickey Mouse is to Disneyland.

His ideas correspond with suggestions by the director of the Meat Board, John McCarthy, that sheep be declared the national icon, and he has evidence of their
popularity.

Four years ago, Sam was mobbed by fans at a Hong Kong trade expo.

"Sam just stood on the stand, blew kisses and waved and people were instantly there. They queued to have their photos taken with him," said Mr Kearney, of Lamz Enterprises.

He said a tourism survey showed that sheep were New Zealand's most recognised icon among Japanese, but that it was hard to bypass the cultural cringe about New Zealand's agricultural heritage.

A letter from the Minister of Tourism, Murray McCully, is typical of responses to his decade of door-knocking in trying to promote Sam.

"We are moving away from an agricultural emphasis in an effort to promote contemporary perceptions aligned to our international reputation, sweeping away the cliches and misconceptions about New Zealand. The concept that we are not isolated - we are on the edge - will be perpetuated," Mr McCully wrote in January.

The Saatchi & Saatchi "on-the-edge" campaign has since been dumped, but Mr Kearney is not about to give Sam the chop.

"I just need to get some backing to develop his character more. I could see him hosting a television show."