Is Prince Harry's Travalyst campaign cultural appreciation or appropriation?

New Zealand has taken centre-stage as Prince Harry launched a new campaign bringing sustainable travel into the mainstream, guided by "kaitiaki values".

But his use of the Tiaki Promise, the commitment to care for Aotearoa, has divided opinions.

From the very beginning of the five-minute advertisement, there's no mistaking Aotearoa and Te Reo will both play a starring role.

The sketch - you can decide whether it qualifies as comedy or not - is to launch a campaign for Prince Harry's sustainable travel organisation, Travalyst.

Rhys Darby rates Harry on his own sustainability while travelling, falsely accusing him of leaving litter on the beach when he and Meghan were here in 2018 on their royal tour. 

Harry chose Māori Television's current affairs programme Te Ao with Moana to launch the campaign.

"Out of the blue, we were contacted by representatives for, wait for it, Prince Harry for an interview. I thought it was a scammer, but no it all checked out," host Moana Maniapoto said.

"Guided by Māori knowledge and practices, Aotearoa is a country of sustainability pioneers and I'm particularly impressed by the efforts of the Tiaki Promise," Prince Harry said.

But is it a respectful nod to Māoridom or cultural appropriation?

"There was no mention of Māori on their website, there's no Māori advisors, no Māori on the board, my understanding is the advert was created in America, not New Zealand," Māori‌ ‌cultural‌ ‌adviser‌ ‌Karaitiana‌ ‌Taiuru‌ said.

Prince Harry does get points for his Te Reo pronunciation, but questions remain over how invested he really is.

"Is he going to commit back to Māori? Is there going to be some employment opportunities? Will he be promoting Māori culture through his charity? Just all those things, with cultural appropriation it's normally take take take and never give back," Taiuru‌ said. 

Hopefully, the Prince's intentions are better than his acting ability.