Durban - In the dog eats dog world of advertising, the new Cell C advert which shows a Maltese poodle getting overly affectionate with a man’s leg has resulted in a storm of protest. The advert has been banned from the SABC.
The risqué advert has seen over 100 complaints laid with the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa.
Twitter and Facebook followers honed in on two elements of the advert: that is was bordering on animal abuse and that the act as a whole was distasteful.
However, no animal was used in making the advert. Cell C’s head of marketing, Doug Matteus, said a puppet had been used instead.
He said: “The cost of living in South Africa is expensive and we feel that people are getting ripped off. The dog is a metaphor for how South Africans are getting taken advantage of,” he said.
The advert depicts a man struggling to come to terms with the expenses of daily life, whether it be paying for groceries or filling up with petrol.
The dog makes sexual advances on the man each time he has to pay for anything.
Asked about the SABC decision, Matteus said: “SABC never had the advert in the first place. We never even got a chance to pitch it to them.”
“So one has to ask the question: Are they the moral compass of the country? How do they know what South Africa wants? So it’s actually disappointing to hear that they won’t consider airing it, when they haven’t even let us explain the message behind it,” he said.
Matteus said Cell C had taken precautions to make sure the advert was not viewed by children. “The advert is only flighted after 8pm and is only shown in movies with an age restriction of 16 years. So we tried to control who could view the advert. But we cannot stop people going online.”
The Advertising Standards Authority has asked Cell C to submit a copy and explanation of the advert by Monday. It will determine whether or not the advert will be edited or dropped altogether.
Some tweets read:
Kobus Weise: “The Cell C ad with the dog humping the guy’s leg is in very poor taste and simply the worst I have seen in years.”
Zama Mshengu: “That Cell C advert is so not cool… dog bumping and grinding on that guy’s leg. I mean that is so disgusting. What am I supposed to tell my 4-year-old?”
Mary Majola said: “This advert is a bit inappropriate.”
Keenan Harduth: “Had a proper laugh at the new Cell C advert with the dog taking advantage of the guy’s leg.”
Independent on Saturday