Engen has been instructed to stop using an advert which shows three people in the front seat of a Quantum made for two. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) this week ordered the withdrawal after Bushy Matlala had complained that a Engen Primax Unleaded poster he saw at an Engen Garage in Hammanskraal “condones an unsafe and illegal act”.“The poster shows three fuel attendants tending to a taxi‚ while the driver and passengers are visible through the windscreen‚” an ASA statement said.“Seated in front‚ the driver and two passengers are visible‚” it said‚ “despite the fact that this particular vehicle (a Toyota Quantum) only has two seats in front”.“This seems to encourage and condone overloading.”Engen had submitted that the “National Road Traffic Act No 93 of 1996 stipulates that no person shall ‘operate’ a minibus in contravention of the prescribed number of passengers”.“The vehicle shown is not being ‘operated’‚ and the advertisement does not relate to the operation of minibuses in general‚ nor does it relate to how many people can fit into this minibus. The captions used all refer to the performance boost provided by Engen fuel‚” the ASA said.“The complainant is therefore incorrect in arguing that the advertisement encourages or condones overloading.”However‚ the ASA Directorate “considered a complaint against a television commercial depicting an SA Roadlink bus straddling lanes”‚ which was upheld; and another about a Standard Bank “commercial featuring a scene with a passenger on a motorcycle without a helmet” when making its decision.The ASA said Engen had relied “on the fact that the vehicle is not moving‚ or more specifically‚ is not being ‘operated’ in the image shown”‚ but the directorate “cannot ignore the fact that the advertisement features a vehicle at an Engen station‚ presumably being cleaned and refuelled before continuing its travels”.“A hypothetical reasonable person would likely conclude that the seating arrangement shown reflects how the occupants would be travelling. In the absence of any evidence to the contrary‚ it would appear that the minibus is carrying three occupants in front‚ when it should only be carrying two.”The ASA ruled that the “advertisement must be withdrawn in its current format…with immediate effect” and “may not be used again in the future”...