South Africa's Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) has ruled that the TV commercial of Comair's kulula airline in which a black man deliberately drives over a white couple's luggage isn't racist, just over the top and humorous.
Bonita Ngwenya laid a complaint with the Advertising Regulatory Board that kulula.com's "Don't be a travel hater" TV commercial "incites division along racial lines", has racist undertones, portrays criminal behaviour through the destruction of someone's personal property and depicts aggression that is unacceptable for sensitive viewers.
Comair hilariously said that it is not a member of the ARB and doesn't submit to the jurisdiction of the advertising watchdog.
kulula said that "the fact that the travellers are white and the 'travel hater' is black is completely incidental and has no relevance whatsoever to the storyline or message of the advertisement".
The Advertising Regulatory Board in its ruling found that all the commercials in kulula's "Don't be a travel hater" series revolve around the sabotage other travellers.
"The campaign as a whole, and the specific execution in particular are clearly over the top and humorous. It is patently clear that the trigger for his action is that he is jealous of holiday and irritated by their bragging - and not any racial issue."
"The behaviour in the commercial is clearly exaggerated and to be humorous,and the viewers would understand that the behaviour in the commercial is unacceptable and should not be emulated."
"The directorate is satisfied that viewers would not interpret the commercial in a literal manner and would not interpret it as promoting violence."
