ARB rules Valentine's Day 'sperm' ad does not promote GBV

AN INSTAGRAM advertisement promoting Valentine's Day earlier this month, depicting a cartoon man scratching near his groin, showing his animated sperm singing about being set free in an acapella style, does not encourage gender-based violence, the Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) found.

- ZELDA VENTER

In dismissing several complaints about the advertisement, the ARB's Directorate (the body which presides over complaints) held that hoping to have sex is not the same as promoting violence.

In ruling that the advertisement did not violate the ARB's Code of Conduct, the Directorate found that the animated metaphor also did not exploit or demean any gender.

The caption on the advertisement reads: “A boring Valentine'? Not on our watch! Find spoils that make the hearts skip? At the end, the voice-over states: “Set them free from love jail this Valentine's Day, with gifts from NetFlorist’.

There were various separate complaints lodged in this matter and in essence, the complainants submitted that, in the context of South Africa’s high gender-based violence rates, this advertisement is inappropriate and offensive. According to the complaints, it sexualises Valentine's Day and arguably implies that sex is a given, or that women are obligated to have sex if men buy them flowers on Valentine's Day.