The Act Party has found itself in a comical stoush with Tui after it co-opted the beer brand’s “Yeah right” tagline to take a swipe at the University of Auckland.
The university, which dropped out of the world’s top 150 universities this week, has upset the political party with its plans to make a course teaching knowledge of the Treaty of Waitangi compulsory for all first-year students next year.
With Tui this week reviving its “Yeah right” billboards after nearly a decade, Act jumped at the opportunity to mock up a billboard of its own.
Photoshopped behind a University of Auckland sign and shared to Act’s socials on Friday, the mock billboard read: “Compulsory Treaty courses will get Auckland Uni back into the top 150,″ alongside Tui’s “Yeah right” slogan.
Tui clapped back soon afterward.
“Hey ACT, keep my beers’ name out of your mouth,” Tui wrote.
The comment below Act’s Facebook post was a reference to actor Will Smith’s standoff with comedian Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars.
The beer brand then doubled-down with a fresh billboard on its socials.
“Tui, the official beer of ACT - Yeah right,” its post read.
Act wasn’t done either, adding a comment under Tui’s post.
“Week 1 of your brave new reboot, and we already found a truth you’re afraid to tell,” Act wrote.
Unsurprisingly, there’s been a good deal of commentary in response. This includes those that don’t see a problem with Act’s pretend billboard.
“ACT party on point with superb logic presented in a very humorous way,” wrote one supporter.
“It’s almost like we should have a public vote on what the treaty actually stands for?” said another.
Then there are the clearly unimpressed.
“Act is a joke,” one person wrote.
While another person said, “Always a racist post by ACT ... trying to be inflammatory instead of conciliatory. Sad bunch really.”
Either way, some enjoyed the sparring.
“Marketing team needs a raise,” one person shared.