When TV Shows or Books mention New Zealand spontaneously...?

Are they legitimately mentioning New Zealand cause it's awesome, or is
it some sort of stunt? Are they taking separate takes naming other
countries/cities? Printing unique books? Or is it some sort of
sponsorship?

I see/hear this a lot more than I care for, and I'm starting to get a
little suspicious of it all.

The last direct example I can think of was the movie "Dream Lover"
(Hey, I happened to be watching MGM), where in the story we find out
that Lena's secret lover Larry has bought them a house in New Zealand.
I mean, come on. Please.