A model sitting on a screwdriver with a speech bubble saying: “If your husband does not use Force‚ then he is not the one.” What could possibly go wrong?
Force Tools‚ of Boksburg‚ found out when three Car magazine readers complained to the advertising watchdog.
Joanne de Decker‚ Pamela McGinty and Stuart Lowe told the Advertising Standards Authority the wording and tone of the ad was offensive‚ encouraged the culture of rape when sexual abuse is prevalent in South Africa‚ and demeaned wives and husbands.
In a ruling on Friday‚ the authority said Force Tools “immediately withdrew the advertising from all platforms once it was brought to its attention that [it] could be seen in the offensive context”.
It added: “[Force Tools] apologised for any offence caused. The ad unfortunately slipped through Car magazine’s stringent vetting channels.”
The ASA said since Force Tools had withdrawn the ad and promised not to use it again‚ it did not to deal with the merits of the complaint.
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