Ad watchdog rules Coastal Hire did not promote GBV

The complainant said the ad is violent.

The advertisement

The ad shows a man named Thabo in his garden when his partner angrily confronts him for not fixing household issues. After throwing a shoe at him and storming off, she warns she will return with her father. Thabo quickly orders equipment from Coastal Hire, completes the necessary repairs, and faces his partner's father upon her return. The father, holding a large tool, jokingly says, “I am watching you,” while Thabo grins. The commercial ends with the tagline, “Saving marriages since ’94.”

The complaint

A consumer argued that the ad promoted gender-based violence, pointing to the scene where the woman throws her shoe and her father arrives with what appears to be a baseball bat, suggesting violent intentions. The complainant felt the ad encouraged harmful stereotypes and condoned physical threats as a means to enforce compliance.

Coastal Hire's response

Coastal Hire, through its media agency Intimedia, defended the ad, stating that the intent was purely comedic, aiming to use humour and exaggeration to capture audience attention.

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The agency clarified that the father was holding a sledgehammer—not a baseball bat—and that the ad had been flighted for over a year without prior complaints. They argued that the ad used parody to depict family life in an amusing way without promoting violence.

ARB’s ruling

The ARB Directorate reviewed the complaint under Clause 3.2 of Section II of the Code of Advertising Practice, which prohibits advertisements from supporting or condoning violence. The Directorate acknowledged that while the woman’s shoe-throwing and the father’s tool-carrying might appear threatening, no actual violence occurred, nor were threats of violence explicitly made. The board accepted that the depiction of conflict was intended as light-hearted and comedic, falling under acceptable use of hyperbole and parody in advertising.

The ARB also clarified that the father's sledgehammer was contextually appropriate for the DIY work depicted, although it agreed that the object’s portrayal was ambiguous, leading to the misinterpretation of it as a baseball bat.

Ultimately, the ARB determined that the commercial did not condone violence and would not lead to violent behaviour, dismissing the complaint. However, the board noted that clearer visual communication could have reduced the likelihood of such complaints in the future. Coastal Hire’s humorous portrayal of family dynamics was deemed permissible within advertising standards.