Are they frightened that for some reason or other they'll be breaking FIFA rules? Or do they really think that from 11 June to 12 July this year, the whole of South Africa is going to come to a dead stop to watch soccer?
Or that everyone will be so mesmerised by the spectacle that they'll simply stop shopping? That they will be so distracted that they won't even look at any ads other than those that actually appear in soccer stadiums on TV when there is a world cup game on the go.
I would have thought this would have been a wonderful time to advertise in any sort of media. Because even in specialist magazines dealing with issues such sewage reticulation, diesel injectors and high-tech drill bits for dentists, there will be something about the world cup if their editors are halfway awake.
Chatting to some German friends recently about their experiences during the world cup there, it became abundantly clear that when there is a world cup on the go, life as we know it doesn't come to a grinding halt. Maybe for a couple of hours a day, when a game is on, a lot of consumers will be glued to their stadium seats or sitting in front of their TV sets or even listening to the radio.
But, for the rest of the time, everybody will be doing what they do every day. They will still be eating and drinking, shopping for clothes, food, cars, luxury goods, you name it.
Sure, all the schools will be on holiday but while this might normally curtail some advertising, in this case it should increase it.
I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would want to batten down the hatches and not advertise just because there is a world cup on the go. It doesn't make sense in anything but very, very rare circumstances.
Unless of course a lot of companies have spent their ad budgets on tickets for their clients.
