There are many things similar (or the same) between New Zealand and the United States. Such similarities easily lull you into a sense of complete continuity, into an expectation that pretty much everything you see here will be just like it is back home. And then a little combination of words jars the delicate sense of familiarity, and makes you laugh.
Like lollipops. At least in the States we call them lollipops. Down here they’re referred to as “sucks” or, more generally, “sweets.”
And the term “sucks” used to describe something that is bad, unpopular, or unfortunate seems not to have caught on in New Zealand as it has in the States.
Thus is born a unique marketing strategy for Starburst in New Zealand. We saw them in the supermarket check-out line as we waited our turn: a large set of multi-coloured plastic lips serving as a base with holes into which were placed lollipops wrapped in bright colours over the bright yellow of Starburst brand wrappers. And on a sign above the lollipops are written two words made possible by New Zealand culture and hilarious by American culture: “Starburst Sucks.”
I just don’t think people would buy them back home.
~emrys
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