P奴teketeke wins Bird of the Century 鈥 with help from John Oliver鈥檚 Manitowoc billboard
The 辫奴迟别办别迟别办别 received 290,374 votes, despite being a contender for the last two weeks of the contest. The North Island brown kiwi came in second with 12,904 votes.
MANITOWOC聽鈥 John Oliver's campaign, including posting a billboard in Manitowoc, paid off for the 聽in the聽.
, the New Zealand contest organizers, announced the bird's win Nov. 14.
"After a two-week battle of the birds that will go down in history, the 辫奴迟别办别迟别办别 now wears the coveted Bird of the Century crown atop its burnt-orange mullet," a from Forest & Bird stated.
According to the release, the 辫奴迟别办别迟别办别 received 290,374 votes, despite being a contender for the last two weeks of the contest. The North Island brown kiwi came in second with 12,904 votes.
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The from the organization said they received more than 350,000 votes from 195 countries. The previous record was 56,733 votes in 2021.
Oliver announced his campaign for the strange bird in the聽聽contest during Nov. 5 episode of聽听辞苍听.
His campaign consisted of a number of advertisements in busy metropolises 鈥 like Paris and London. He also posted a billboard in Manitowoc, his only advertisement in the United States.
The billboard was placed facing west on the side of the building at 1004 Washington St., near the intersection of Washington and South 10th streets. The building is home to聽聽and v膩p.
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He then appeared on聽聽Nov. 8 where the pair talked about the bird contest and Oliver's campaign to have it named Bird of the Century in New Zealand.
"It is American money undermining a foreign election. What is more to be proud of than that?" he said to Fallon's audience.
Oliver then gave an update on the campaign on his show during the Nov. 12 episode.
Oliver's attention on Manitowoc is the latest in a series of eastern Wisconsin mentions during late night shows. Sheboygan was referenced during The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Oct. 16 and again on Late Night with Seth Meyers on Oct. 25.
Alisa M. Schafer is a reporter for the Herald Times Reporter in Manitowoc. She can be reached by email at aschafer@gannett.com.