F-word acceptable, depending on which one is used
The Advertising Standards Authority has issued a lengthy ruling about the three f-words: effing, fricking and fucking, concluding that 'fricking' was child-friendly. Times Select says the 1 569-word ruling, made after analysing the Oxford Dictionary, was in response to a complaint by Meryl Turner about a radio advert for on 5FM for Webuycars.co.za that included the phrase 'fricking painless'.
Turner complained: 'The commercial is offensive as it uses the word "fricking" which, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is a euphemism for the word "fucking". 'It is totally unnecessary, crass and bears no relevance to the product. Further, the word is not suitable for children who listen to the radio.'
Webuycars is not a member of the Advertising Standards Authority and did not defend itself, but the authority made a ruling anyway 'for the guidance of its members'. 'There are a number of replacements for the word 'fucking' and ... most of them are considered socially acceptable for use by adults,' it said. 'From the material at hand, it is apparent that an adult consumer would not consider the word "fricking" offensive.
Euphemisms are not necessarily vulgar. It depends on the application and circumstances within which they are used.' It said while 'effing', was 'an adjective used as a euphemism for 'fucking', the word 'fricking' was regarded as a much milder word than 'effing'. The directorate was unanimous that the word 'fricking' coming from a child would cause considerably less consternation and possible trouble than the word 'effing'. The complaint was dismissed.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
