Cromwell residents are, for the most part, proud of their enormous plastic fantastic bunch of fruit fronting State Highway 8B.
It is an icon and a point of difference, the town's people say.
Community board member and long-time Cromwell resident Gordon Stewart said the fruit was recognised throughout New Zealand and was a significant tourist attraction.
Board chairman Neil Gillespie agreed, adding it was something the town's people loved to hate at times.
"It may be spectacularly ugly, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It's ours, we've got it, and we love it," he said.
Mr Gillespie said there was no such thing as bad publicity for the fruit.
"It's only when it gets media attention like this that people in town actually talk about it, but I don't see it as bad publicity.
"You've only got to look at the number of people who stop and get photos beside it . . . for something that's spectacularly ugly it gets a fair bit of attention," he said.
People spoken to by the Otago Daily Times in Cromwell were singing the fruit's praises, possibly in defence of Lonely Planet's harsh comments.
Cromwell resident Blair Scoullar said when forming a local football team a few months ago he felt obliged to pay homage to the sign.
"People from as far away as Auckland and Christchurch are now signing up to play in Team Big Fruit.
"I used the [big fruit] idea for my Cromwell team's name because it was appropriate . . . everyone immediately knew it was a Cromwell team when they heard the name," he said.
Mr Scoullar said Team Big Fruit was formed for the seven-a-side football tournament at Alexandra in October, which was part of the town's annual Blossom Festival celebrations.
"But who knows, maybe Team Big Fruit will re-form for special occasions," he said.
Despite its popularity, the sign has attracted its fair share of negative opinion over the years, for its bright, vulgar colours, costly paint jobs, and lack of modern style.
Last painted in November 2004 at a cost of $25,000, the fruit was subsequently labelled 'sour-looking' and 'tasteless'.
One Cromwell retailer told the Otago Daily Times in December 2004 the fruit "looked a bit '80s", while another said it should be "pulped and replaced with a giant beetle" - referring to the town's 83ha chafer beetle reserve.
Despite opposition to the sign, many Cromwell residents agree the town is known as a fruit capital, with summer stonefruit such as nectarines and apricots providing major business.
The recent rise of viticulture in Cromwell and neighbouring Bannockburn has sparked suggestions of grapes being added to the bunch.
Mr Gillespie said cherries were also hot on the list of ideas for possible additions, although there were no immediate plans for any alterations at this stage.
