Royal Advertising

Shortly after the royal wedding date was announced, Education New Zealand published a quarter-page advertisement in Britain’s The Times newspaper offering Prince William and Kate Middleton’ s first-born child a scholarship to a New Zealand university. “The colonies are aflutter with your wonderful news, and we wanted to be the first to send our best wishes with a gift,” the advert read. “To celebrate, we’d like to offer your first-born a first class scholarship to any university in New Zealand.” The advertisement, which the company described as a “fun, tongue-in-cheek approach to getting our message across,” was designed to tie in not just with the royal engagement, but with the increasing dissatisfaction of British students over the proposed increase to the cap on tuition fees. Spokeswoman for Education New Zealand Michelle Waitzman said the campaign marked the first time that New Zealand had made a serious effort to attract British students. “While our ad in The Times addressed Prince William and Kate Middleton, it was also a message to all UK students and their parents, encouraging them to think outside the box when it comes to education,” Waitzman said.