I remember at varsity in the communications class we used to argue about the communication process. A bunch of us contended that in the communication process the 'how' of the message should also be taken into consideration. A message might be well-intended but due to how it has been conveyed, it might be misunderstood and the whole process then jeopardised. Case in point is how creative freedom has been stretched in the South African advertising industry.
The following adverts are just an example of creative freedom that has killed the message:
What's the message there? This smacks of old apartheid era thinking or the thinking of some of the farmers of the day - "Feed the natives and they will work/dance for you". That is just what comes to my mind when I see an old lady skipping rope after supposedly eating Ace.
In trying to validate my argument on advertising creatives killing the message I conducted a survey. The question was: Which adverts do you consider bad, offensive to other races and lacking a message?
Respondent one: "Bad adverts, unfortunately they all include blacks, are those maize meal ads, it could be White Star, Ace or whatever brand, they are just bad. Then there's these adverts of black women (it's either some coffee or tea) where you find our mothers drinking tea and then start dancing stupid moves."
Respondent two: "I think the General Motors advert about the wife giving birth to a black child is sexist, racist and derogatory to women in general. It portrays women as being promiscuous and will jump into any bed to fulfil their sexual desires."
Respondent three: "The Vodacom 'make the circle bigger advert' is poking fun at fat and black people and loya baba mdala (that man is old) for doing that."
So it would seem that the same target audience aimed at by advertisers is in harm's way, being assassinated by creative teams. Do we bring an end to creative freedom, do we boycott the products or do we sit still and bite our teeth every time we see the adverts? Well I guess it all depends on where you are sitting and what you think of the advert. You can be left amused or simply put pen to paper and address the BCCSA, ASA or any of the watchdogs out there.
Be warned though, there is no escaping as you are the target here.