01.09.11
Weatherman reigns supreme as ‘father of the nation’
Judy Bailey may be the mother of the nation but until now our national father figure has been sadly absent. Not any
longer. Since 1988, Jim Hickey has been making forecasts of showers a little less ominous and ones of sun just that
little bit brighter. Now the iconic figurehead of weather reporting has taken out the title of ‘Father of the Nation’ in
the inaugural Paper Plus Great Kiwi Dads survey.
Over 1000 Kiwis across the country completed the survey in which Jim beat the likes of John Campbell, Labour leader Phil
Goff, John Hawkesby and Prime Minister John Key to take his place alongside our beloved mother, Judy Bailey.
However, our affable leader, the Honourable John Key, not to be outdone by the astute weatherman, took out the most
admired New Zealand father with a convincing 43 per cent of votes. This can only been seen as a positive sign for him in
an election year.
It seems Kiwis actually think quite highly of politicians, as the trend continued with Barack Obama voted the most
admired international dad (39%). On the other hand, womanisers proved highly unpopular, with Hugh Hefner (1.2%) closely
beaten by fallen poster boy, Tiger Woods (0.5%) to become New Zealand’s least admired international dads.
“At Paper Plus we’re proud to be Kiwi’s as well as 100 per cent Kiwi owned and operated. We also don’t take ourselves
too seriously and thought it would be fun to provide our fellow New Zealanders with some insight into the Dads around
the country,” says Rob Smith, CEO of the Paper Plus Group. “This survey was a great way to have a look into some of the
more light-hearted aspects of fatherhood.”
As part of their celebration of Father’s Day Paper Plus is offering the chance for one lucky Kiwi dad to live like a
billionaire for a day. To be in the draw all you have to do is spend $30 dollars or more at any Paper Plus store
nationwide and enter the draw online.
The billionaire experience winner will get to spend an evening wining and dining with real-life billionaire Sir Richard
Branson, and if the survey results are anything to go by, he is in for some interesting questions. Respondents planned
to ask Sir Branson for a job, business advice and even offer an invitation to their ‘man pad’ for a beer.
Happy Father’s Day from Paper Plus.
ENDS