John Oliver made waves last week when he launched a campaign for a bird in New Zealand’s Bird of the Century competition on his show, expecting it to stir some controversy and influence voting. And it turns out, he was right.
Last Sunday’s Last Week Tonight With John Oliver featured an update on Oliver’s endorsement of the pūteketeke for New Zealand’s annual contest and its unexpected impact, including a surge in support and some opposition.
Here’s the unfolding story of John Oliver and the pūteketeke thus far.
The campaign
During last week’s show, Oliver explained his inspiration for joining the competition and his choice of bird. He outlined his campaign strategy involving billboards, movie parody posters, moving-car ads, and airplane banners in various countries, including New Zealand.
“This is what democracy is all about: America interfering in foreign elections,” he said.
Oliver also appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon wearing a bird costume, supposedly a pūteketeke, to further promote his cause.
The positive response (so far)
Oliver revealed that last year’s winning bird received under 3,000 votes, a number he was confident they could easily surpass. The conservation organization running the contest, Forest & Bird, reported that Oliver’s campaign for the pūteketeke had already accumulated over 10,000 votes, causing system overload.
Jon Oliver’s campaign for the Pūteketeke to win Bird of the Century has kicked off with more than 10,000 votes coming in overnight! Verifying emails is a massive ongoing job – as you can imagine!!https://t.co/674rl8IyT8
— Forest & Bird (@Forest_and_Bird) November 6, 2023
As a result of the system crash, the contest results were delayed until Wednesday.
The not-so-positive response
After the episode aired, Oliver faced backlash from certain quarters in New Zealand, who were unhappy with his antics. He also received love and support from other bird campaigns. However, the pūteketeke’s detractors took issue with Oliver’s endeavor, and some even referenced his portrayal of a bird in The Lion King.
Oliver’s response to the response
Addressing the criticism, Oliver clarified that he pokes fun at New Zealand because he loves the country. He concluded with a message to his competitors in a typically satirical fashion.
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver airs Sundays at 11 p.m. on HBO.
