Zuma ad implied endorsement - SABC
2012-11-27 22:42
Johannesburg - A fish and chips commercial which depicts a cartoon President Jacob Zuma and his family having dinner was not aired because it implied presidential endorsement of the product, the SABC said on Tuesday.
"We are of the view that the advert implied an endorsement of the product sold by the Fish and Chip Company," spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said in a statement.
He said the SABC was concerned about media claims that it had banned the advertisement.
"The SABC reserves the right to exercise editorial control over all content, as per our trading terms, licence conditions, and public broadcast mandate."
The animated commercial begins with the words "Dinner time at Nkandla" appearing over a picture of a mansion. Next a woman, seated at one end of an extremely long dining room table lined with children and several women, says in isiZulu: "Oh Zuzulicious, we're having fish and chips from Shabba today."
The family enjoys the fish and chips dinner.
An animated Zuma responds: "Eat up honey bunch, there is a lot of good food here. It's from the Fish and Chip Company. There are many of you in this house. At only R25 even Pravin will approve."
Kganyago said the advert was not submitted to the SABC in time for it to examine the quality and other technical aspects.
The material needed to be received five working days before broadcast, but it only arrived on Friday shortly after 2pm. It was supposed to be aired on Monday.
Carlo Gonzaga, the chief executive of Taste Holdings, under which the Fish and Chip Company falls, said the company's advertising agency had made arrangements with the SABC for the material to be submitted at that time. On Monday the agency was told the advert had been withdrawn as it was considered too controversial.
"It is our opinion that no reasonable person would conclude that the president of the country is endorsing a product," Gonzaga said.
"We accept the position of the SABC to not flight the commercial. However, if President Zuma objects to the use of his image on other channels, we will offer to donate R100 000 to a charity of the president’s choice."
He said the intention of the advert was to portray the brand in a "clever, different and unique way".
"We ultimately wanted to demonstrate that our product provides a great value proposition, with South Africans from all income levels, including the president and his family, being able to afford meals from The Fish and Chip Company.
"Importantly, the advert highlights that even if consumers’ belts need to be tightened due to difficult economic conditions, that our meal offerings provide great value for money, even for larger families such as President Zuma’s."
- SAPA
