I DID not give consent to see this image which I find gory, offensive and disturbing. Neither did my children.
These were the words of Katherine Ross-Dingli as she slammed the billboard promoting the Showmax true-crime documentary series, Rosemary's Hitlist.
The billboard, which can be seen on highways in East London and Joburg, features the cop-turned-serial killer, Nomia Rosemary Ndlovu, sitting in court with her hands dripping blood.
Not everyone is impressed
Although it's been almost three months since the documentary launched on Showmax, some people find the billboard disturbing.
On Monday, 7 August, Katherine filed a complaint with the Advertising Regulatory Board that the image was offensive and disturbing, especially to her minor children.
Another complainant, Danél Simms, questioned why this gruesome image was allowed for everyone to see.
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But Showmax advertisers claimed that the image was fictitious and intended for promotional purposes only. They argued that an image containing blood would offend some people, and that advertisements with any sexual connotations would also offend some people.
According to the Showmax advertisers, the display of blood was not done without reason or graphic but relevant in the context of the product, a documentary about murder.
They submitted to the board that the advertisement does not encourage children to go into unsafe environments or undertake risky or potentially harmful activities.
Board makes its ruling
The board had to balance the complainants' discomfort and perceived offence with the advertiser's argument that it was merely for promotional purposes.
The board found that the image was not universally offensive and was not in contravention of Clause 1 of Section II of the code which deals with children and safety.
While they acknowledged that the image is not particularly pleasant to look at and that children might have questions about why the woman who has blood on her hands, they said it is not a realistic representation of violence.
Do you agree that the billboard is disturbing? We would love to hear from you, so drop a comment below.
