Johannesburg advert a litany of 'blatant untruths'

11 Jul 2013

A radio commercial that describes Johannesburg as a "world-class African city" has been deemed "misleading" by the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa (ASA).

No, apparently it's not.

The authority‚ which published the ruling on its website on Wednesday‚ called on the City of Johannesburg to withdraw its commercial.

Johannesburg resident Steven Haywood complained to the ASA about the commercial‚ saying it contained "blatant untruths".

The commercial‚ broadcast on Talk Radio 702‚ starts with a voiceover: "Imagine living in a city where you can rest assured‚ knowing that it is financially stable; that there is ongoing electrification of homes."

In his complaint‚ Haywood said the city had received three consecutive qualified audits‚ and its waste management service provider‚ Pikitup‚ was bankrupt.

He claimed that Pikitup left "refuse lying in the streets for days due to fleet shortages"‚ while the Johannesburg Roads Agency was unable to repair roads in the city.

The commercial further claims the city is environmentally friendly: "Imagine ... a city that is saving the environment through different energy-efficient interventions."

The complainant said the city lost R1.2bn worth of electricity and R800m worth of water every month.

Creating jobs? What jobs?

The advert boasts about the world-class status of Johannesburg‚ describing it as "a city that continues to create new jobs despite the economic downturn". The unemployment rate in Johannesburg last year was 24.5%‚ with most of its youths unemployed.

The city acknowledged the complaints but did not issue a formal response. The ASA said it therefore "had no option but to rule based on the submissions at hand".

The city did not dispute the allegations that it had received a qualified audit for three years in a row‚ that it ran high losses on‚ among other services‚ electricity and water‚ or that its Pikitup service was bankrupt.

A report by the Auditor-General to the Gauteng provincial legislature and the Johannesburg city council supported the claims of the city's financial instability.

The ASA based its ruling on a clause in SA's Code of Advertising Practice that states: "Advertisements should not contain any statement or visual presentation which‚ directly or by implication‚ omission‚ ambiguity‚ inaccuracy‚ exaggerated claim or otherwise‚ is likely to mislead the consumer."

The authority ruled that the city had to withdraw the advertisement and not use it again in its current format.

Source: I-Net Bridge

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