Complaint number: 25/202
Advertiser: Hell Pizza
Advertisement: Hell Pizza website and addressed mail
Date of meeting: 23 September 2025
Outcome: Upheld in part, Not Upheld in part. Email advertisements not to be used again.

Summary of the Complaints Board decision

The Complaints Board upheld a complaint about three Hell Pizza email advertisements for the “Doobious” pizza, and did not uphold a complaint about two website advertisements for the “Doobious” pizza. A majority of the Board said the email advertisements encouraged or condoned an illegal practice, consuming recreational cannabis, and were therefore not socially responsible. A majority of the Board said the two website advertisements did not reach the threshold to encourage or condone an illegal practice.

Description of advertisements

Website
The first website advertisement had images of a pizza, a grinder, a small plastic bag of leaves and some leaves scattered around. The text said “Doobious for herb lovers – Free baggie -herb grinder”.
The second website advertisement had images of a grinder, a small plastic bag of leaves and some leaves scattered around. The text said “FREE HERB GRINDER when you order a double Doobious Pizza – Use code: DOOBIOUS – Order yours now – limited stash* – FULL T&C’s HERE – *Grinder must be added to your cart & the code applied at checkout. Grinder is for the supplied sage & oregano only”. At the top right-hand corner of the advertisement was the text “Restricted 18+”.

Emails
The first email advertisement had the subject line “Score a Herb Grinder with our NEW Doobious Pizza”. The body of the email included imagery of the Doobious pizza, the grinder and the bag of herbs, as well as the following text:
“If you’re partial to something sticky-icky, our latest smoky creation comes with a baggie of herbs and grinder – ready for you to grind up and sprinkle over top… Limited stash … get your hands on one before they go up in smoke…”

*Herb grinder is strictly R18, add a double-sized Doobious Pizza and the grinder to your cart and use the code DOOBIOUS. Not available in conjunction with any other offer. Grinders are extremely limited and available for online orders only. Grinders are intended for culinary purposes. Baggies contain sage and oregano. Full terms and conditions at hellpizza.nz.

The second email advertisement had the subject line “Spark up your weekend with something Doobious”. The body of the email included imagery of the Doobious pizza, and the contents of the Grinder Pack: the grinder, a bag of herbs, a hat, a tin and a voucher for “your next munchie emergency”. The text included the following:
“You’ve all been blazing through our new Doobious Pizza. If you haven’t scored yours yet, now’s the time to see what the hype is all about… every Doobious Pizza comes with a free Baggie of our sticky-icky sage and oregano herb blend to sprinkle on top. WIN a limited edition grinder pack. The hook-up continues over on our socials. We’re giving away Six Doobious Grinder Packs, fully loaded with a grinder, herbs, a hat, a tin and a voucher for your next munchie emergency…

The third email advertisement had the subject line “Final Call: Doobious Pizza almost gone!”. The body of the email included imagery of the Doobious pizza. The text included the following:
“Well, you’ve blazed through our new Doobious Pizza stash so fast that this is it, the final call.
Our stash is getting seriously low, and this looks like your last chance to get your hands on this smoky masterpiece…The munchies don’t stand a chance! And yes, every Doobious Pizza still comes with a baggie of our herb blend to make the session complete. (Don’t worry, it’s the kind of special herb your mum would approve of, sage and oregano)…”

Summary of the complaint

The Complainant was concerned the advertisements were not socially responsible because they normalised or glorified illegal drug use by showing drug paraphernalia associated with cannabis use.

Relevant Codes: Advertising Standards Code, Principle 1, Rule 1(e).

Issues raised:

• Social responsibility
• Safety

Summary of the Advertisers response:

The Advertiser defended the advertisement and said it:

• Did not promote unsafe or illegal behaviour.
• Included clear safeguards to restrict access to adults.
• Used satire to comment on an important social issue.
• Reflected genuine and evolving community conversations.
• Was part of a campaign designed as social commentary to highlight New Zealanders’ changing habits and conversations around medicinal cannabis