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By NCFM

UPDATE:
So, how powerful can one complaint be. Well, here’s Ocean Basket‘s delayed response to Jason:

Here is Ocean Basket‘s response:

“Hi Jason, thank you for bringing this to our attention and for being so patient with the delayed response. We do appreciate your feedback on the campaign and our marketing team have taken your comments into consideration for future print media. If you would like to take this further please private message us your contact number and email address via Facebook Private messaging so we can address your concerns regarding the campaign which has now ended. Thank you once again for your patience and your comments.”

The “delayed response” can be translated as “we were originally ignoring you, but now we have decided to take you seriously”.

All the same, it seems as though my complaint has made a positive difference.

Jason
NCFM: Yes, it does! Congratulations. One well crafted complaint may have changed the wicked ways of a large corporation. Nice job Jason, good work. You too, whoever you are, can do similar things when you see man stupid advertising, just send the perpetrator a polite and concerned complaint. Who knows, they may actually listen and change their wicked ways too.

Here’s the original post.

NCFM NOTE: Men are stupid advertising raises its ugly head in South Africa, but NCFM Member Jason Dale shows restaurateur Ocean Basket that their advertising smells like rotten fish; and that his writing is substantially better than that of their advertising agency. For those of you in South Africa offended by Ocean Basket’s ignorant advertising, please boycott their restaurants. Anyone can click on any Ocean Basket picture here to go to the “Customer Care” page on their website from which you can send them a polite complaint. Please do. Clearly they don’t much care for half of their potential customers…

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Ocean Basket Central HO
Customer care: compliments/complaints dept.
07 December 2014

RE: Complaint about “RESISTIBLE man but IRRESISTIBLE R69 Mediterranean Feast” billboard Ad

Dear Sir/Madam,

As a former customer of your Ocean Basket chain of restaurants, I would like to bring to your attention an advertisement that I recently saw while driving down Musgrave road in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This particular advertisement consists of a series of billboards designed to be viewed in succession by passing motorists and pedestrians alike, and it left me feeling so disgusted that I seriously doubt I will ever visit another Ocean Basket restaurant again.

On the first Ocean Basket branded billboard in the series; we see a man whom I would guess to be somewhere in his forties with the word “RESISTIBLE” emboldened in a prominent white font next to his picture.  The next billboard features a lavish picture of an “IRRESISTIBLE” pan-served dish consisting of chips, rice, fish and prawns with lemon and sauce. Finally, we see a third billboard which delivers Ocean Basket’s attempt at a punchline – The “Mediterranean Feast” is priced at R69.

Just for the record, would you mind telling me exactly what you find so “resistible” about this man that you think his appeal and value in society is not even worth a plate of food? And “resistible” according to WHO? For lack of any other logical explanation, are we to assume that it must be something about his appearance? Or is it because it’s safer to bash and ridicule men? (Kind of like the “UN-Steve” yourself campaign that FNB is currently running).

Your marketing team (together with the shallow and superficial human mediocrity) might defend this advert as harmless humour and all in good fun – but they clearly didn’t stop and think about the sinister underlying message that it broadcasts, and after reading the inspirational story about Fats Lazarides and his wife raising Ocean Basket from the stormy seas of hardship and difficulty, I am shocked and stunned that moral sea monsters like this could come from a business culture that should have known better.

Shame on you, Ocean Basket. You have lost me as a customer, and potentially many others.

Jason Dale 

Tell Ocean Basket to change their advertising.

Tell Ocean Basket to treat their male customers with respect.

Tags: Advertising, discrimination against men], Ocean Basket