South Africa’s advertising watchdog rejected complaints on Wednesday over a commercial showing a secretary spitting into her boss’s coffee, saying she cleared her throat too loudly for it to be taken seriously.
The advert by a chain of florists for Secretaries’ Day earlier this month showed a woman noisily clearing phlegm from her throat before spitting it into a cup of coffee, accompanied by a reminder not to forget your staff on the day.
Eleven people complained about the advert, which they said was disgusting, in bad taste and gave secretaries a bad name, but the Advertising Standards Authority ruled the commercial could not be taken seriously.
“The over-the-top execution is seen, for example, in the loud throat-clearing noises that the secretary makes,” the authority said in a statement published by the South African Press Association. “In reality, if one were going to spit in a person’s coffee, it would be done quietly and discreetly.” — AFP