The location desolate: a rough-hewn carpark opposite Lipstixx Massage bar in Fort Street.

But the high-tech set-up is impressive: a 20m-wide giant screen has been trucked in, the better to display Stuff.co.nz to a curious Auckland public.

Only, things weren't looking quite so high-tech when NBR's correspondent walked past (like others at NBR Towers, just 50m down the street, he was aggrieved that precious car parks had been snaffled by the Australian-owned site's promotion).

The giant screen was dead.

It looked like this:

The Stuff staff wrangling the promotion explained it had been down for 15 minutes.

Meaning that 15 minutes ago it would also have looked like this:

The staff assured NBR that the screen would be fixed "shortly" - although we all know what "shortly" means in IT speak.

And with no one actually trying to fix the display, NBR fears that later this afternoon it could still look like this (note the desolate couple in the lower left, abandoning the site)*:

"Please don't Tweet that photo to your friends," one of the Stuffers requested.

The giant screen will move to Aotea Square tomorrow, where presumably reception will be better.

Stuff launched iPhone and iPad applications today, NBR was told, which is probably a good thing given how the larger format is going.

* UPDATE: Yes, it was still down 45 minutes later, with all but one of the Stuffers having abandoned the site.