Controversy
New Zealand's Jewish community, which perceived Goldstein as an unfortunate stereotype, expressed initial resistance to the advertising character. The popularity and success of the character has, however, largely mollified any initial concerns.
ASB Bank pulled the Ira Goldstein commercials from air for several weeks following the World Trade Center attacks of September 2001, out of respect and for fear of causing offence with their image of a bumbling New York banker.
One commercial that showed Goldstein comparing Rotorua's boiling mud pools to the opening of the World Trade Center was altered in the wake of "9/11". The line of dialogue in question changed so that Goldstein merely commented on the presence of the mud.
Read more about this topic: Ira Goldstein
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