The ODT’s Sunday article claiming that Dunedin is the true Garden City of New Zealand sinks to a new low, even for them. It seems mean-spirited to take Christchurch’s last claim to fame away while they’re not looking. They even have gardens made out of bits of rubble now, in the empty spots where the buildings used to be. That’s pretty dedicated.
Aside from the moral issues involved in waiting till that big guy down the street takes a beating and then running in to figuratively kick him in the balls and steal his candy, this new branding campaign is disappointing in its sheer boringness. Dunedin has better things to advertise than its dirt patches. When asked her opinion of the controversy, Christchurch resident Alicia Lamb-Miller said, “I think Dunedin should embrace their Scottish heritage and shirty weather, and leave the garden issue alone.”
Critic would like to point out that, in addition to shirty weather, Dunedin has several new claims to fame in the wake of the Christchurch earthquakes. For example, we are now the only functional city in the South Island. Why settle for “Dunedin: the Garden City” when we could be “Dunedin: the City”? We could run campaigns with slogans like “We have functioning pubs!” or “Our buildings probably won’t fall on you! Also, there are buildings!”
There has been no comment on these suggestions by anyone from the Dunedin City Council or Tourism Dunedin, but we are confident that this new, expanded vision of Dunedin’s role in South Island tourism will catch on quickly, and look forward to Dunedin’s new branding with enthusiasm. Or at least with slightly less boredom, which is almost the same thing.
Critic manufactures story based on ODT's manufactured story
