WISCONSIN — John Oliver, the host of the HBO show “Last Week Tonight,” bought a billboard in downtown Manitowoc.

He’s asking people to support a unique cause: The New Zealand Bird of the Century Contest.

Oliver has a favorite.

What You Need To Know

  • John Oliver, the host of the HBO show “Last Week Tonight,” bought a billboard in downtown Manitowoc

  • He’s asking people to support a unique cause: The New Zealand Bird of the Century Contest

  • He’s campaigning for the threatened pūteketeke, which is also known as the Australian crested grebe. It is a threatened species

  • There are fewer than 1,000 of the birds left in New Zealand, according to Forest & Bird, the independent conservation organization behind the competition

He’s campaigning for the threatened pūteketeke, which is also known as the Australian crested grebe. It is a threatened species. There are fewer than 1,000 of the birds left in New Zealand, according to Forest & Bird, the independent conservation organization behind the competition. 

The billboard requesting Manitowoc’s vote is on the city’s main strip; the mayor said it’s hard to miss. 

“I’ve been in my job for 14 years now and every Monday morning I wake up wondering what happened Sunday night and this one was a fun one,” Mayor Justin Nickels said.  

At first, Nickels said he thought it was a joke, so he drove by the location. Once he realized the campaign was real, Nickels said he went online and voted for the bird. He said it was a neat thing for the community and also gave a shout out to Oliver. 

“He even pronounced Manitowoc correctly when he was saying this on his show,” Nickels said.

According to a Facebook post by Visit Manitowoc, it’s the only city in America to get Oliver’s “Bird of the Century” billboards. 

The two-week contest opened for voting on Oct. 30.

Watch the full interview above.