Wanted: Business Hotshots For Reality Contest

PUBLICITY RELEASE
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 17 2007

Wanted: Business Hotshots For Reality Contest

Are you a hotshot young executive who reckons they can close a deal worth $10,000 in six weeks?

Then Maori Television’s popular reality show WAKA REO is the challenge for you. But be warned - it’s far from business as usual.

There’s no flash office or funky cafe to brainstorm in, no designer gear to impress, no gyms to unwind in - and definitely no sushi or flat whites.

Instead, there are anoraks, mattresses, sleeping bags, home-cooking, living with strangers – and lots of reo Maori.

WAKA REO, made by South Island-based production company Tahu Communications, is headhunting14 corporate young guns with little or no reo Maori to compete for the $10,000 prize.

The contestants, who have never met before, will live on Rapaki marae on the beautiful coastal setting of the Banks Peninsula, far from the usual trappings of city life, for up to six weeks.

At the heart of WAKA REO is the language. Contestants must learn to speak reo Maori better than their rivals, as well as take part in physical tasks and be part of Maori culture in the truest sense.

Those who can’t keep up are eliminated each week after being grilled on what they’ve learned.

At the end of six weeks, the last one left in the marae claims the grand prize of $10,000 and the title of corporate champion of WAKA REO.

“We hope WAKA REO will give employers and companies an opportunty to support reo Maori and bi-cultural learning in a tangible way,” says producer Haunui Royal.

“It will be an amazing experience for the competitors who have to take on mental and physical challenges for the grand prize and at the same time
learn the Maori language ,tikanga and history associated with life on a marae. In the last two series, the contestants found it a life-changing experience
for the better and have thoroughly enjoyed it.”

Employers must support any of their employees who take part in WAKA REO and contestants do not have to be Maori.

Applicants need to complete a written application form and provide an audition tape on VHS, DVD or mini-DVD.

They should record themselves in their workplace, give an introduction, describe what they do, why they want to be on WAKA REO, what they expect from the show and how it will benefit their future career and employment.

Application forms and full details are available on www.tahufm.com.

If you think you can cope with a competition where language and marae life clash head-on, try out for WAKA REO and the chance to win $10,000.

Ends

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