The original ad presents the viewer with a scene in which a family says their normal goodbyes at the family car, whereupon a brutal car accident unexpectedly occurs. "Life is unpredictable. Be Prepared." the tagline explains. The ASA ordered the life insurance commercial to be withdrawn from broadcast, ruling the commercial too violent and "likely to induce shock, fear and distress in the average viewer."
In the new ending, the collision is narrowly avoided and everyone is left shaken, but safe. The tagline "Life is unpredictable. Be prepared." remains unchanged.
The much talked-about commercial earned an "Orchid" advertising award, but the ASA remains unimpressed, saying it "without justifiable reason plays on the fear of the average consumer," could scare children and adds that "many viewers may be unable to afford life insurance."
Clientele Life has expressed disappointment at the ruling. "The reaction of the public was overwhelmingly in favour of the ad. Not only in terms of compliments received, but in terms of sales figures. We fail to see how the commercial could offend against good taste or decency or be offensive to public or sectoral values," says Gavin Soll, MD of Clientele Life.
"What is depicted in the commercial is an everyday occurrence. We share, on a daily basis, the trauma faced by a bereaved family suffering the loss of a loved one, as well as the additional trauma when inadequate financial provision was made for such an event."
As for the inference of exploitation in the ruling that the advertiser pressures viewers into buying insurance they could not afford, Soll takes a harder stance. "The ASA is out of line. Clientele Life provides affordable and valuable insurance cover to a sector of the market that desperately needs it. We are the R1-a-day life insurance company. All consumers also have 30 days to peruse the product should they reconsider for any reason."
Writer and director of the ad, Vivienne Vermaak, says the ruling is pious and incongruous. "We approached the subject sensitively. Not a drop of blood or physical injury was shown in the ad. The ASA admits that more violent scenes are shown on our TV screens all the time, but that's okay, they say - as long as you don't make money out of it for a commercial product. Making money for the broadcaster who sells lots of advertising space when these popular violent movies are broadcast is fine with them, however!"
Vermaak further says that the ruling displays a fundamental disrespect for the intellectual capacity of consumers. "The average consumer is simply not as stupid, naïve and gullible as the ASA makes them out to be." she says.
