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Angry dad gets Uys' Aids advert pulled

– Eric Ntabazalila , The Star, 21 July 2002

The SA Broadcasting Corporation has withdrawn a loveLife advertisement by Pieter Dirk Uys because the language was considered obscene.

This follows a complaint and the threat of a petition by a furious Cape Town father who saw the advert while watching TV with his 5-year-old daughter.

The SABC's action has infuriated Uys, who recently obtained an award for his work in the fight against HIV/Aids.

The advert that caused the mayhem says: "... want Afrikaanse kinders naai ook!"

The SABC's Nolene Ramdhani said the advert had been pulled off the air after two days.

"The complaint we received in Cape Town was the only one. Management viewed its language as obscene," she said.

The advertisement will be replaced with one which does not contain crude language.

loveLife spokesperson Angela Stewart-Buchanan said Uys was reflecting the way most communities talk about sex.

"Pieter-Dirk Uys is reflecting a real slice of life, of how sexuality is discussed in South Africa. The announcement is part of loveLife's parent campaign which was launched with the intention of getting parents to talk openly and frankly about sex with their children."

Uys said parents were terrified to speak about HIV/Aids and sexuality, and were the first ones to complain.

"The word used is not polite, but the disease itself is not polite. We don't have time for polite words when the house is on fire.

"This is the language that is used by the very young people we are trying to reach.

"I have been to more than 200 schools and spoken to more than 40 000 learners and they never complained — because it is their language," he said.

The advertisement was withdrawn as a result of a complaint from Wayne Claasen of Surrey Estate, who was watching TV with his daughter on July 18, hoping to hear Nelson Mandela delivering his birthday message, when the loveLife slot was aired.

"My daughter started looking at me, because I have taught her... this is not the way we talk. I sat there not knowing what to do and got very angry.

"You just can't use that type of language on national television during the day while children are at home. It's absolutely vulgar. I think he (Uys) has overstepped the line," Claasen said.

A survey showed that most parents (58 percent) disagree that open communication about sex and sexuality can help reduce a young person's risk of getting HIV/Aids. The majority of fathers (67 percent) do not discuss sexual matters with their children while TV (72 percent), teachers (71 percent), magazines (67 percent), friends (65 percent) and nurses or doctors (51 percent), are an important source of information on sex, sexuality and relationships for young people.

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HIV & AIDS

articles from 2002