Warning: This article contains language some people might find offensive.
Whittakers New Zealand has confused its core base of chocolate lovers with a new advert for its Dark Ghana chocolate, with many commenters saying all they can see are tiny flying penises.
Uploaded to its Instagram account on Wednesday morning, the ad - titled, 'Travelling from Ghana to Porirua, our cocoa beans are 100 percent traceable' - shows a trio of beans leaving Ghana via a flying fox before heading to Aotearoa's shores.
The cocoa beans appear to be wearing helmets and seated in a metal support. As serene music plays out in the background, the 15-second promo builds to a crescendo before revealing the block of Dark Ghana chocolate.
A post on Whittakers' website said the tracing of beans was part of its push to help with the prevention of deforestation.
"At Whittaker's, our ambition is to make sure our Chocolate Lovers get the most delicious fix in the most sustainable way. This is why we geo-mapped cocoa farms in Ghana so we can trace cocoa beans from farm level all the way through the supply chain to help prevent deforestation.
"In 2021, we achieved 100 percent traceability in Samoa. In 2022, we achieved 100 percent traceability to Identity Preserved (IP) level in Ghana - the gold standard of traceability."
Despite the sustainability message, plenty of chocolate fans have voiced their confusion at the concept - with many saying all they can see is something phallic.
"Love Whittaker's, but all I'm seeing are eggplant emoji," wrote one.
"OMG right???? Who OK-ed this ad campaign??!" another commented.
"What y'all smokin' up whilst creating these ads?" a third joked.
Another simply voiced what everyone was thinking: "Here's to our tiny dicks we [are] flying round the country!"
"These are peens," a further weighed in.
In a statement to Newshub on Wednesday afternoon after the penis-related comments on its social media post, Whittaker's NZ said: "It seems the bean is in the eye of the beholder, but however you look at it, traceability of cocoa beans is critical for maintaining an ethical supply chain.
"We're really excited to achieve full traceability of all the Ghanaian cocoa beans we use to make our chocolate well ahead of our commitment to do so by 2025. Now Chocolate Lovers have even more reasons to enjoy our Good Honest Chocolate."
