The Moa Brewing Co. had launched the ad campaign dubbed “The Moa Pakistani Backhander”, which detailed an offer to consumers for one free case of beer for every 10 purchased, and likened the deal to numerous incidents involving match-fixing scandals featuring the Pakistan cricket team.
“Pakistanis love cricket and they love making money. Sometimes they combine the two with a good old Pakistani Match Fix so that the Black Caps get to win a game and the Pakistanis get a big cheque from the TAB,” the online brewery advert had stated.
“It’s a win-win all round and we here at Moa love the business principles behind it, which is why we’re offering a Pakistani Backhander of our own.”
“So, for every 10 cases of Moa ordered, the contact person who does the ordering, that’s you, gets 10 per cent of the match fee – a free case of Moa beer for themselves that we don’t tell anyone about… “Is this ethical? No. Is it Pakistani? Yes!” it added.
Responding to media reports about the advertisement, The PCB said in a statement that it “finds the report very disturbing,” and contacted New Zealand Cricket in this regard.
“The PCB has been advised that the said advertisement was taken off air less than 24 hours of its launch. It is rather unfortunate that the advertising company became insensitive to the feelings of the Pakistani nation while airing their ad, which is not only unethical but also disrespectful,” the statement said.
“However, after the assurance from New Zealand Cricket, PCB is does not intend to pursue the matter any further,” it added.
