"This note cannot buy anything, not even a loaf of bread and certainly not any advertising, but it can become the advertising - a powerful reminder about Zimbabwe's plight and the need to hold someone accountable."

Billboards and posters and stamped individual notes bear the slogans: "Fight the regime that crippled a country" and "It's cheaper to print this on money than paper", with logo underneath,

hired ad agency TBWA Hunt Lascaris to craft the campaign to raise awareness in South Africa of its plight to be an independent and uncensored news source for Zimbabweans.

The paper, started by exiled Zimbabweans and published outside the country, said an import duty of 55 per cent had been slapped on it, making it unaffordable for average Zimbabweans.

It hoped the campaign would increase circulation and advertising revenues within South Africa, allowing it to subsidise the cost of the paper in Zimbabwe and deliver it "into the hands of those who need it most".