Kiwis Fight Furry Allegations

DAN MOSKOVITZ (HE/HIM

If there is one thing Aotearoa is known for, it’s birds. If there is one thing birds are known for, it’s their feathers. This information is apparently novel to Cadbury Australia. 

While in Melbourne last month, I came across a store selling Cadbury chocolate as part of a promotion called “Furry Friends.” Said chocolate features pictures of quintessential Australian creatures like echidnas, platypuses, and… kiwi?

As we learnt, way back in paragraph one, kiwi are birds, and as such have feathers, not fur. 

A Cadbury spokesperson said the “Furry Friends” promotion was only in Australia, despite kiwi being endemic to New Zealand. Cadbury did not comment as to why a feathery animal endemic to Aotearoa was included in an Australian marketing campaign about furry animals.

In a statement, NZ-owned chocolate brand Whittakers responded, saying “Kiwi are feathered rather than furry, and Whittaker’s is known for telling it like it is in our marketing and our wider commitment to Good Honest Chocolate.”

“It’s not really for us to comment on the inclusion of kiwi and other ‘friends’ that aren’t furry in that range, [but] irrespective of any differences in how furriness is interpreted, it’s nice that in Australia they consider kiwis to be their friends.”