Jacinda Ardern asks why New Zealand is left off world maps in new tourism campaign

NZ leader Jacinda Ardern and comedian Rhys Darby think Australia is partly to blame for their country disappearing from world maps, launching a tongue-in-cheek campaign to fix it.

NZ PM Jacinda Ardern is unimpressed that the country she leads keeps getting left off world maps. Source: Supplied

Eagle-eyed Kiwis have noticed that New Zealand is increasingly being left off world maps - and they're sick of it.

The land of the long white cloud has taken a creative approach to getting noticed, launching a new #getnzonthemap tourism campaign featuring prime minister Jacinda Ardern.  

Rhys Darby calls the NZ PM to tell her about the conspiracy. Source: Supplied

In a video posted to Facebook, comedian Rhys Darby alerts Jacinda "Cindy" Ardern to the "big conspiracy going down", describing the frequent omissions as "bigger than the moon landing and Loch Ness combined". 

The comedian, who starred in television series Flight of the Conchords, conducts an investigation and comes up with three possible culprits.

"Australia want our tourists, England want to get rid of the All Blacks, and the wine industry can't beat our pinot or sav," he tells Ardern on the phone. 

It may seem like a joke, but to many New Zealanders, the map issue is deadly serious. The sub-Reddit "Maps without NZ" thread has thousands of subscribers.

Last year, the BBC vox-popped Londoners asking if they could identify which country was missing from a world map.