By Botho Molosankwe
Gallery: Teazers billboards on Rivonia Road
What does a suggestive new Teazers billboard have in common with Caster Semenya?
Nothing! If you believe Teazers owner Lolly Jackson.
| '...maybe it should be that I am directing it at Leonard Chuene' |
The billboard, on display in Rivonia Road, Sandton, shows a woman with ample breasts laying on her back. Her left arm covers her breasts and her knees are bent. The words "No need for gender testing!" are written across the billboard.
But despite the glaring "gender testing" link, Jackson said it was all a coincidence.
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"The (Semenya) gender test was the furthest thing from my mind when we did the advert.
"If it is construed in another way, maybe it should be that I am directing it at Leonard Chuene - that I am honest, I do not lie when I put my billboards up there," he said yesterday.
Chuene, the Athletics SA president, has admitted lying about gender tests conducted on Semenya, who won the women's 800m world title in Berlin last month.
| 'People are only complaining because it is Teazers' |
Jackson said he came up with the words himself and that they were self-explanatory.
"I do not want anyone coming here (to Teazers) with the idea that we do not have women. We have women, 100 percent women here. I did a test on them, I am a professional and they are 100 percent wo-men," he said, laughing.
But one person is not laughing and has laid a complaint about the billboard with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which could lead to Jackson being forced to remove it if it is found to be offensive.
"Some religious freak complained, only a religious fool would complain about that. Maybe the woman who complained should lose a bit of weight and her husband will then stop looking at the Teazers billboard, maybe she is fat and ugly. I don't give a s**t about her moral issues.
"I am sick and tired of bloody women who have nothing to do but look at Teazers billboards and complain. There are a lot more serious things that are happening in the country like corruption, crime and all that than complain about a billboard," Jackson said. "It is a nice advert and the woman is a wonderful specimen of a lady. I wish there were a lot more in Sandton looking like her".
He also attacked ASA, calling them "a bunch of idiots doing a worthless job".
But Corné Koch, the communications manager of ASA, said it is not the body's role to stop people from complaining. "We protect consumers and ensure professionalism among advertisers. We are there to look at complaints. We do not monitor adverts, we react to complaints."
Regarding this billboard, Koch said ASA had received a complaint on September 19, with the complainant claiming the advert was offensive. They have yet to take action, as they are waiting for Jackson to provide them with an image of the advert.
He had until today to do so, but Jackson said he will reply to the ASA in his own time - and when he feels like it.
"They can go and look for it themselves. People are only complaining because it is Teazers. Remove the word Teazers and replace them with sunbeds or Sun International and there would be no complaints," he said.
- This article was originally published on page 7 of The Star on September 29, 2009
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