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How VoteThisBird.com and John Oliver Turned a Shy Waterbird into a Global Icon
You’ve probably never heard of the pūteketeke before 2023. That’s not unusual. It’s a rare waterbird from New Zealand with less than a thousand left in the wild. Kind of awkward-looking, does a hilariously intense courtship dance, and generally just minds its own business on the lake.
But then Last Week Tonight host John Oliver got involved. Suddenly, this obscure bird was plastered on billboards in Tokyo and São Paulo, painted on a tuk-tuk in India, and winning the hearts (and votes) of people all over the world. The campaign’s digital home? VoteThisBird.com. A simple, no-frills website that became the center of one of the most bizarrely effective conservation pushes ever.
Let’s break down how a comedian, a bird, and one very effective web domain hijacked New Zealand’s Bird of the Year vote—and why it actually mattered.
A Voting Contest That’s Usually Niche, Suddenly Global
Forest & Bird has been running New Zealand’s Bird of the Year competition since 2005. It’s a conservation awareness campaign dressed up like a popularity contest. People vote online to crown a native bird champion each year, hoping the extra spotlight will help drive attention—and ideally, funding—for its protection.
Normally, the competition stays fairly local. Kiwis campaign hard for their favorites, and bird nerds tune in worldwide. But it’s not front-page news.
Then came 2023. John Oliver, for reasons only he fully knows, decided to make the pūteketeke his champion for the special Bird of the Century edition. He launched a campaign that was anything but subtle. It was loud, ridiculous, global—and it worked.
VoteThisBird.com Was the Campaign’s Nerve Center
This site was where it all came together. VoteThisBird.com didn’t try to overcomplicate anything. It told people why the pūteketeke was worth voting for and pointed them straight to the official voting platform.
But what made the site powerful wasn’t flashy design or fancy features. It was clarity, timing, and the cultural juggernaut behind it. Oliver’s team knew their audience. They funneled the absurd energy of the campaign straight into one clear call-to-action: vote for the pūteketeke.
It’s like the campaign version of a well-placed meme. You don’t need deep functionality—you need to stick in people’s heads and give them something to do.
Why the Pūteketeke? Because It’s Delightfully Weird
Choosing the pūteketeke wasn’t just a comedic choice—it was actually clever.
The bird has a unique look: a bit gawky, with wild head feathers that flare out like a 70s rock star mid-solo. During mating season, it performs an elaborate “weed dance,” where it presents pond vegetation to potential mates while shaking its head dramatically.
To most people, it’s an obscure bird with strange habits. But to conservationists, it’s a symbol of what’s at stake. It used to be found all over New Zealand. Now, it’s mostly hanging on in a few southern lakes. Habitat loss and human interference have pushed it to near-threatened status.
That weirdness? That’s what made it memorable. And that’s exactly what made it viral.
John Oliver Didn't Just Campaign—He Engineered a Media Blitz
When people think “awareness campaign,” they picture social media posts and maybe a hashtag. Oliver went way bigger.
There were billboards on the streets of Paris. Posters in subway stations. Airplanes towing banners over beaches in Brazil. One of the campaign’s stunts even involved a guy in a pūteketeke costume walking around Hollywood Boulevard.
The scale wasn’t just absurd—it was strategic. Every one of those stunts pointed people back to VoteThisBird.com. That’s where the campaign converted interest into action. This wasn’t just visibility. It was a funnel with a punchline.
And people followed through.
The Voting Surge Was So Huge It Broke the Contest’s Timeline
Usually, the Bird of the Year results are announced promptly after voting ends. Not this time.
So many people voted—mostly thanks to Oliver’s campaign—that Forest & Bird had to delay announcing the winner. They needed time to validate the votes and make sure nothing shady had gone on.
Some critics argued that the global attention skewed the original intent of the contest. It’s meant to spotlight New Zealand birds, voted on by New Zealanders. But the rules didn’t block international votes, and Oliver’s team didn’t break any rules. They just brought in more attention than the organizers ever imagined.
Forest & Bird acknowledged the unexpected turnout but welcomed the attention. Conservation awareness is conservation awareness, even if it comes with a few jokes.
So the Pūteketeke Won. Then What?
After the votes were counted, the pūteketeke didn’t just win—it crushed the competition. The most votes ever in the contest’s history. VoteThisBird.com was updated with a thank-you message, and the media went into overdrive.
But the real value wasn’t in the title. It was in what followed. Forest & Bird reported record traffic to their site. Donations spiked. People outside New Zealand—many of whom had no idea what a pūteketeke was a month before—were suddenly learning about the country’s endangered birds.
That kind of impact is rare for wildlife campaigns. And this one did it with zero doom-and-gloom messaging. Just energy, humor, and a weird little bird that dances with pond weeds.
VoteThisBird.com Is a Case Study in How to Win the Internet
This whole saga is going to be studied by marketers, nonprofits, and digital strategists for years.
It’s proof that simple websites, when paired with a clear mission and cultural momentum, can punch way above their weight. You don’t need a ten-page strategy deck. You need a cause people can latch onto—and a way to guide them through the noise.
VoteThisBird.com wasn’t fancy. It was effective.
Wrapping It Up
In the end, this wasn’t just a meme campaign. It was a rare example of using entertainment to power real-world change. A waterbird most people had never heard of became the face of global conservation buzz. And the vehicle that helped drive it there was a simple site—VoteThisBird.com.
It’s easy to laugh at the absurdity of it all. But it’s harder to ignore the results. The pūteketeke got its moment. Conservation got a win. And the internet got a reminder that yes, sometimes we can care about something weird and niche—and make it count. 🐦
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