Four recent rulings by the Advertising Regulatory Board that caught our eye

• The Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) recently found some adverts to be misleading and exaggerated.
• Some companies that have landed in hot water with the ad regulator include Toyota, Hollywoodbets, and Dis-Chem.
• We have rounded up four recent ARB rulings that we found interesting this month.
• For more stories, visit the Tech and Trends homepage. 

Numerous prominent companies find themselves in hot water with South Africa’s Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) almost every week, primarily for putting out adverts that are misleading to the public or display exaggerated claims.

As the country’s advertising regulator, the ARB takes on complaints from customers and businesses and aims to regulate the content of South African advertising for its members.

Previously, the ARB had ruling powers over member companies, but this changed last year when the Supreme Court of Appeal reaffirmed its powers even over companies that aren’t affiliated to the ad regulator.

We rounded up four ARB rulings that caught our eye this month.

1. Dis-Chem

Retail pharmacy chain Dis-Chem was found guilty by the ARB for misleading customers in an advert that promised a discount of R492.96 (originally R579.95) on Spectrum Multivitamin Senior 300 Tablets.

The product was advertised on Dis-Chem’s website at a reduced price, but when one customer went to buy it in-store, they were informed that the discount only applies to customers purchasing online.

Advertiser Response

In its defence, Dis-Chem said the terms and conditions on its website indicate that there may be price differences between the online store and the brick-and-mortar stores.

ARB decision

According to the ARB, there is no indication in the actual advert on the website that there is a difference between prices online or in physical stores. This could be a visible disclaimer stating that the sale price is online only, or an asterisk next to the price or the “Find in Store” tab.

The advert itself also does not indicate that the terms might have a bearing on the price or that buying in-store might not result in the same offer. A simple indication in the ad, such as “Online sale price”, could have cleared all confusion.

The ARB, therefore, found the advert to be misleading and requested that Dis-Chem amend it.

2. Capital Legacy

Financial services provider Capital Legacy was also in hot water with the ARB. This comes after one viewer complained about an advert that depicts an Indian family finding out from a white male lawyer that the deceased did not leave a will.

READ MORE | MTN ordered to remove '10GB for R99' ad after it was found to be misleading

The ad then shows the family getting into a chaotic physical altercation with each other. The ad ends with the words, “When there’s no will, there’s drama. Get your will done today. Capital Legacy. Wills and estates specialists”.

The complainant told the ARB that they find the advert “highly degrading towards Indian people and specifically Hindus as the message portrayed is that only Hindu Indian people fight for material objects once a person passes on without a will”.

Advertiser Response

In its defence, Capital Legacy said the advert was meant to depict a “typical and relatable South African family and then overdramatise the scenario for effect”.

In addition, the company said they could have cast a family of any other ethnic group to fit South Africa’s reality but chose a “universally, stereotypically, relatively wealthy Indian family” for their first commercial.

Capital Legacy further stated that these scenarios have played out many times over in real life across different ethnicities and that the message is that without your affairs in order, you open the door for chaos and family feuds.

The financial service provider also referenced their online and billboard adverts, which show subjects of different races in the same campaign.

Ruling

The ARB believes that through the lens of a reasonable person, the overly dramatised scenes are exaggerated, done for effect, and do not necessarily discriminate against Indian people.

The ARB further stated that nothing in the advert demeans or belittles Indian people or the Hindu faith and does not indicate widespread offence. The complaint was therefore dismissed.

3. Hollywoodbets

Recently, Hollywoodbets was found to be misleading after sending an SMS to one of its customers to top up his account to get extra cash.

The SMS said, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY! From HOLLYWOODBETS. Your account has been credited with R50. Deposit R100 or more before 06th February 2023 to get R50 extra. Call in to claim your once-off voucher. For more info call: 0873537634. www.hollywoodbets.mobi.”

After topping up their account, the complainant said they did not get the extra R50 promised.

Following multiple attempts to get a response from the advertiser, no response was received from Hollywoodbets.

The ARB notes that the words in the SMS suggest that if a deposit is made before 6 February, at the very least, a R50 credit will, without a doubt, be received.

Hollywoodbets is therefore advised to amend the SMS and its claims to provide clarity or withdraw the SMS completely.

4. Toyota

In a commercial seen on DStv channel 145, a Toyota advertisement shows a fantasy scenario involving a child imagining that the car is on a new planet. At the end of the commercial, a male voice said, “The all-new Toyota Fortuner. Reimagine the luxury of freedom.”

One complainant submitted that the advert is misleading because it states that the car in the advert is brand new while it has only got a facelift. According to the complainant, the only outside differences to the previous version are new lights, bumpers, and wheels, so it is much the same as the previous generation and not brand new.

Toyota’s response

The advertiser maintains that the car has undergone material changes and improvements, so the ad can’t be misleading.  

According to the ARB, Toyota is justified in describing the Fortuner as new. However, it is not justified in using the words “all new” and “re-imagined”.

“'All new' promises something more than just 'the new Fortuner'. In the context of vehicle marketing, it implies a new model of an existing range; or at least significant changes to the existing vehicle in all aspects. In the context of 'all new', the words 're-imagine' also become problematic – although the directorate wishes to emphasise that they are not so in isolation,” said the ARB.

Given the above, the ARB rules the advert to be misleading.