No, Checkers Sixty60 doesn't deliver by Airwolf helicopter and along the whole West Coast as ARB orders TikTok ad pulled

by Thinus Ferreira

One flight of fantasy that isn't true is Checkers' Sixty60 delivery ad on TikTok that shows it delivering orders by turquoise Airwolf helicopter to houseboats along the whole West Coast. 

South Africa's Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) upheld a complaint after a consumer complained about "a floating house or houseboat situated on turquoise water somewhere on the West Coast".

In Checkers' TikTok ad, individuals are shown relaxing on the deck and in the water. During the scene, the occupants use the Checkers Sixty60 app to place a grocery order. The advertisement then shows a helicopter arriving to deliver the groceries to the boat".

The complainant who lives in St Helena Bay was upset and said Checkers "in fact do not deliver to 'somewhere in the West Coas. I am in St. Helena Bay, and they will not deliver to me, which is somewhere in the West Coast. They are also not offering helicopter delivery".

Checkers explained to the ARB that the ad formed part of its "Summer Delivered" campaign and intentionally used visual hyperbole, nostalgia, and creative licence.

"The depiction of a helicopter delivering groceries to a floating house is not intended to represent Sixty60’s actual delivery methods or geographic coverage," Checkers said, "but rather to convey the brand’s playful, aspirational tone".

Checkers said that "the imagery of a helicopter delivery and the ocean setting serves as a metaphorical storytelling device".

According to the retailer, the phrase "Summer delivered anywhere" is "figurative language designed to evoke the emotional freedom and spontaneity associated with summer, not a literal claim that Sixty60 delivers to all locations along the West Coast or to offshore environments." 

"The phrase is meant to evoke the emotional essence of freedom and joy... rather than as a comprehensive claim of service availability."

Checkers argued that a reasonable consumer "would not interpret the advertisement as promising helicopter delivery or delivery to remote coastal areas".

"Delivery is clearly disclosed within the Sixty60 app, ensuring that consumers have accurate information before placing an order" and that "there was no intention to mislead consumers. The advertisement contains no pricing, operational guarantees or factual claims about delivery coverage. Instead, it relies on exaggeration and nostalgic references, including the use of a Bell 222 helicopter reminiscent of the 1980s television series Airwolf, to create a humorous, light‑hearted summer narrative."

"There was no intent to mislead. The advertisement employs imaginative visuals that are widely accepted in advertising as a means to convey brand ethos and emotional connection."

The ARB said Checkers' helicopter delivery in the ad "is so far removed from ordinary grocery delivery (especially in the South African context) that its use in the advertisement is clearly hyperbolic".

"The advertiser’s explanation that the scene is a nostalgic reference to the 1980s television series Airwolf reinforces the creative and fantastical nature of the execution."

On the other part the ARB however, found "that while no reasonable consumer expects a helicopter delivery offshore, the advertisement communicates that any reasonable West Coast destination would be possible".

"This is due to the identification of a specific area, and the promise at the end of the advertisement of 'delivery anywhere'. A hypothetical reasonable consumer works from a presumption that most advertising is trying to communicate something about the product, and there can be no question that the communication of this commercial is that the advertiser strives to achieve delivery in the most extreme circumstances."

"It delivers 'anywhere', and specifically identifies the West Coast in this regard. If one then considers that, in fact, there are large parts of the West Coast that the advertiser does not deliver to, one is left wondering what the advertisement was actually trying to communicate," the ARB says.

"The Directorate, therefore, finds that the advertisement is likely to mislead the hypothetical reasonable consumer into believing that the advertiser offers delivery 'anywhere' along the West Coast."

The ARB found the Checkers ad in breach of Clause 4.2.1 of Section II of the Code and asked ARB members not to accept the ad with the claims "Somewhere on the West Coast" and "Summer delivery. Anywhere."

Petition calls on advertisers from Clientele Life, FNB, Vodacom and Checkers to Telkom and Chicken Licken to boycott and stop advertising on the SABC.

A Petition has started calling on advertisers to boycott the SABC and to stop advertising on the South African public broadcaster due to the SABC's unwillingness to end the censorship of SABC TV News regarding the broadcast of public protests.

The petition, started on the community advocacy organisation Amandla.mobi's website, is asking advertisers to stop advertising on the SABC until its ends SABC boss Hlaudi Motsoeneng's censorship decree, and is asking the South African public to let advertisers know that they will no longer buy their products and services if they continue to advertise on the SABC.

The online petition asks that Clientele Life, Chicken Licken, FNB, Vodacom, Carling Black Label, Checkers, Telkom boycott the SABC and stop advertising on the SABC.

"More and more organisations and political parties including the ANC, agree with us that what is happening at the SABC is wrong. But the situation at the SABC is deteriorating rapidly, with journalists facing suspension and more and more evidence surfacing of censorship. This calls for a different approach," says the petition.

"We know the SABC makes much of its revenue from advertising, so together with our allies from the SOS Coalition and Media Monitoring Africa, let's call on some of the SABC's largest advertisers - Clientele, Chicken Licken, FNB, Vodacom, Carling Black Label, Checkers, Telkom and others - to pause their advertising with our SABC until this censorship is brought to and end".

The South African broadcasting regulator, Icasa, on Monday ruled that the SABC's censorship of SABC TV News is wrong and needs to be stopped immediately, retroactively to 26 May.

The SABC's controversial chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng said the SABC will not listen to Icasa, that "no-one is going to tell us what to do", and that the SABC will fight the ruling to the Constitutional Court.