Maybe it’s because Australia is stealing their tourists. Or it’s a nefarious ploy from England to get rid of their stiffest rugby rivals, the All Blacks, once and for all. But for whatever reason, New Zealand keeps getting left off world maps, and the country’s prime minister is firing back.
In the cheeky video campaign, Kiwi comedian and “Flight of the Conchords” alum Rhys Darby brings to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s attention the troubling fact that cartographers have been leaving New Zealand off world maps.
From IKEA-made maps and Starbucks wall art, to a Spanish in-flight magazine and the Central Park Zoo, New Zealand has fallen off the planet and all but disappeared on world maps, notes Darby.
“New Zealand, where the bloody hell are ya?” wonders Darby aloud, while pinning the offending maps on the wall.
The spoof comes following a popular thread on Reddit called “MapsWithoutNZ,” where members post photos of world maps that omit the island nation.
They include snack boxes, more Starbucks wall art, an iPhone cover, along with world maps on a university wall, and even the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington DC. JB
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