The Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) has upheld a complaint against Outsurance over radio advertising for its pointsmen traffic-management programme, finding that the ads could mislead Cape Town listeners into believing the service operates in the city.

TimesLIVE reports that the advertisements repeatedly said Outsurance pointsmen had been ‘easing traffic congestion’ for 20 years and helped motorists get to their destinations ‘quickly and safely’.

However, the pointsmen service is not currently available in the City of Cape Town, with Outsurance confirming that its Western Cape operations were limited to Paarl and Stellenbosch.

The company argued that the 20-year claim was historical and did not suggest the service operated in any particular area.

It also said the ads did not explicitly claim that pointsmen operated in Cape Town and that radio advertising could reach areas beyond the programme’s operating footprint.

The ARB rejected that argument, saying advertising must be assessed in the context in which it is broadcast and according to how a reasonable listener would interpret it.

The ARB found that the advertising contravened clause 4.2.1 of section II of the Code of Advertising Practice, which deals with misleading claims, specifically through omission. 

TimesLIVE notes that the ARB has instructed Outsurance to withdraw the advertisements in their current form from CapeTalk and any other radio station primarily targeting Cape Town.

Full TimesLIVE report