Rama won't be advertised as 'margarine', Checkers tells new ad watchdog

The new advertising watchdog body, the Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB), handed down its first ruling on November 16.

Dave Bennett complained about Checkers labeling Rama “original” spread as margarine in their advertising. The advertisement was in a catalogue with special deals.

Bennett argued that the product was not margarine as legally defined, which says a product may only be called “yellow margarine” if it contains a maximum of 16% water. He said Rama contained more than this percentage of water.

Checkers investigated the complaint and found it was only labelled incorrectly in the advertising catalogues in KwaZulu-Natal.

“The KwaZulu-Natal advertising team has been informed accordingly, and it will ensure that going forward, the word ‘margarine’ will not be used when advertising Rama.”

The ARB accepted the shop’s undertaking to not use the term "margarine" when advertising Rama “original” product again.

“This undertaking is not only unequivocal but clearly addresses the concerns raised by Mr Bennett. There is therefore no need to consider or investigate the matter any further.”