Advertising Board finds LekkeSlaap's ad crossed line between humor and harassment of women

What was meant to be a humorous commercial featuring Tali, a well-known influencer from Tali’s Wedding, filming herself at an airport while promoting online booking platform LekkeSlaap’s travel deals, was found by the Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) to be offensive.

The advertising watchdog determined that the ad crossed the line between humor and harassment of women. This happened because overly eager LekkeSlaap fan Hannes, in the commercial, keeps following her at the airport and commenting on what she says. This occurs despite a visibly annoyed Tali trying to get away from him.

The commercial shows Tali speaking to her social media audience on her phone. It starts with her saying: “Howzit, guys, I am travelling with Lekkeslaap. I’ve just come from a game lodge in the Kruger.” 

A man sitting in the row of chairs behind her turns around and leans into the shot, saying, “Kruger! Man, I love that plek.”

Looking put out, she walks around the airport, but he keeps on following her, making comments.

The commercial sparked complaints, in which it was said that although the comments made by the male character are humorous, these comments are made at the cost of a person who has expressed their discomfort and desire to be left alone.

The complainant stated that, as gender-based violence and all forms of harassment are built on a “no” or boundaries being disregarded, society cannot view this lightly.

A further complainant highlighted that the man in the advertisement invaded the woman’s space and made her uncomfortable, ultimately following her and running after her, so that she had to ask him to stop.

The complainant strongly believes that the commercial depicts the harassment of women in public spaces.

The advertiser responded that the people in the commercial are two well-known characters who have appeared in many previous commercials. His defining traits are over-enthusiasm, brand fandom, and social obliviousness – never aggression or menace.

Tali’s humour, it said, lies in the performance of exasperation, not in genuine distress.

It added that the “comedy” markers are explicit, with the advertisement being clearly satirical and humorous, saying it received a lot of positive feedback.

But the advertising regulatory board disagreed and said that while the advertisement was intended as a joke, it still depicted behaviour which could be seen as harassment.

The directorate considered the defences of “it was just a joke” and “nothing bad actually happened to her”.

While it knows that the advertiser meant these defences with the best intentions, it is interesting and uncomfortable to note that these are exactly the things that a woman will often be told when she objects to the behaviour of a man in this type of situation, the directorate said.

It is contemplated that, had Hannes ceased his engagement after Tali asked him to leave her alone or when she showed obvious discomfort, and the commercial concluded in some other way, the same problematic outcomes might have been avoided.

However, the directorate made it clear that following a running woman, continuing to talk to her when she has requested to be left alone, and noting where she is travelling to, meet the definitions of harassment in real life, and should therefore not be depicted humorously in commercials.

It pointed out that this was not a unanimous conclusion, and some members felt that the obviously humorous and borderline slapstick nature of the advertisement negated any sense of malice or harm.

The ARB instructed its members not to show the commercial again.