Durban - A radio listener who complained to the Advertising Regulatory Board about an advert she found was not only offensive to young children but men suffering from erectile dysfunction, has lost her case.
Abby Leigh Muil laid a complaint against GM Pharmaceuticals’ radio commercial for High Rise Capsules.
In her complaint, Muil said the commercial features a woman questioning her partner’s arousal dysfunction.
“It is inappropriate for a family-friendly station and comes across as offensive and insensitive to male (and female) listeners who may be experiencing a similar medical condition.”
At the start of the commercial, we hear sheets rustling and a woman yawning.
She and her male partner say good morning to each other. Then she asks, “Have you run out of High Rise capsules?”
He responds, “Ja, about a week ago.”
She says, “Mmmm, I’ve noticed. How’s things at the gym?”
“A bit flat, actually.”
“Mmmm, like the sheets on your side of the bed.”
“Hey!” he responds. “That’s a bit rough.”
“It is for me, too,” she says. “I’ll get some High Rise capsules today.”
The voice-over then says, “High Rise, the high-performance daily supplement.”
It discusses the availability and then concludes, “High, Rise never lets you down, so you won’t let her down.”
At the time, the advertiser responded High Rise Capsules are a daily performance supplement sold in leading pharmacies such as Dis-Chem and Clicks.
“It is not an aphrodisiac, but classed as a complementary medicine.”
The advertiser said this was the first complaint they had received in two years of the advert being flighted.
“If the advert is found to be offensive, we could move the advert to out-of-peak school dropping and fetching times, thus still allowing us to air the advert.”
In its ruling, the ARB said The High Rise commercial relies heavily on innuendo. In fact, the Directorate double-checked what High Rise Capsules are actually supposed to do, given the oblique possible references to sexual performance in the commercial.
“The Advertiser also states that the product is not an aphrodisiac but a complementary medicine. The product marketing states that they help users to “cope with a demanding lifestyle”.
“The commercial itself references the man feeling ‘a bit flat’, and there is a reference to the sheets on his side of the bed being likewise flat, and that’s the extent of the innuendo in the storyline of the commercial.
“Nonetheless, given the name of the tablets, the general tone of the commercial, and the pay-off line, ‘High Rise, never lets you down so you won’t let her down', it is reasonable to interpret that the product is suggesting that it enhances sexual performance in some way, as well as improving general energy levels.
It further ruled any child who is capable of understanding the oblique references would also be old enough to have been exposed to appropriate sex education and would therefore, not be harmed by the commercial.
IOL
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