Traffic fine advertisement gets green light
‘Reasonable person won’t be offended’
A reasonable viewer would not be offended by advertisements depicting sangomas‚ prophets and evangelists who promise to “kill the evil spirit of traffic fines”‚ an advertising body has ruled.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruling comes after a complaint lodged by Peter Tamplin against the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA).
Tamplin argued that their advert pokes fun at religious leader Lethebo Rabalagothe‚ the so-called “Prophet of Doom” who encouraged worshippers to use insect spray to cure their troubles.
The RTIA argued‚ on the other hand‚ that the advertising campaign was meant to create awareness of its service.
The agency said the characters in the adverts were labelled fake. This was done to distinguish authentic practitioners from fake ones‚ with the intention to protect the integrity of good practitioners.
In its finding‚ the ASA said an advert must be considered from the viewpoint of the “hypothetical reasonable” viewer.
“The reasonable person has been postulated as a person ‘who gives a reasonable meaning to the words used within the context of the document as a whole and excludes a person who is prepared to give a meaning to those words which cannot reasonably be attributed thereto’.”
According to the ASA‚ the advert seeks to remind people that they should use the right solution for the right problem.
“It also seeks to remind people that there are fake practitioners‚ who will not solve their problems.”