While you're all gathered around the table for your Christmas dinner this year, we'd wager some good money that at least one middle-aged relative is going chime in with the phrase everybody gets so offended these days , blaming millennials for getting things banned in South Africa.
On the dinner-table-conversation bingo card, this one is a cert: Right up there with compliments about the gravy and jokes about one portly uncle being the first to dip in for seconds. There may be a bit more fuel added to this fire next week though, following the recent decision to pull a Chicken Licken advert from the air.
The Big John campaign flipped the script on colonialism, depicting a black South African rocking up in 17th-century Europe and declaring the land his. The Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) said that the clip trivialised centuries of suffering and was therefore removed from all broadcasts.
However, pulling offensive adverts from screens is nothing new in this country. For decades, certain brands have pushed the envelope as far as they can, often profiting from the notoriety of the public outcry. We've compiled a list of our favourite commercials that have been banned in South Africa, ranging from the hilarious to the jaw-dropping.
Banned in South Africa our most offensive adverts: Malema gets stitched up by Nando's
Where else could we start with a banned in South Africa list than with a Nando's commercial? The chicken specialists went in hard, back in 2009. They lampooned then-ANC Youth League Julius Malema with a brilliant bit of puppeteering. However, some viewers found the depiction a little too close-to-the-bone.
The mocking of Malema's hand-actions, mannerisms and interpretation of basic maths lead to a fair few complaints some from the ANC finding their way to the ARB. The commercial was subsequently banned after its initial airing.
Pappa wag vir jou (Daddy is waiting for you)
This is perhaps one we can all agree is a bit too far. In fact, it was even used in Shrien Dewani's murder case by the defence, who argued that their client would face ultra-violent treatment if he was sent to a South African prison.
Scare tactics were used by the Drive Dry campaign to urge males in particular to avoid drink-driving. It starts like a dating commercial with a couple of men telling the camera what they want from a date.
It soon becomes obvious that these men are prisoners waiting for new inmates in a holding cell. It ends with a creepy toothless gangster saying: Pappa wag vir jou (Daddy is waiting for you). The advert did not survive long before it was replaced by an updated version.
DA and EFF stifled by political correctness Both the DA and the EFF fell foul of the SABC's commercial policy in 2014. With both parties taking shots at the ANC and making particular reference to the Marikana tragedy that claimed dozens of lives the state broadcaster rapped both opposition outfits for trying to incite violence .
Of course, this flimsy excuse did not hold up well with many South Africans. In the DA's clip, we can see a younger Mmusi Maimane rallying the electorate during his time as the Gauteng Premier nomination: Is there anything so wrong with this?
Likewise, Julius Malema back in the days when he used to wear a suit instead of red overalls was left feeling extremely hard done by when this ad was pulled. By Juju's recent standards, this campaign was sugary sweet:
SABC Perspectives advert
It's hard to keep track of what the SABC do and don't find offensive. It's been more than a decade since their perspectives advert got a run-out, and it properly rattled TV audiences across Mzansi. Which is strange, considering that it's not exactly a shocking idea.
The what if white people were treated like black people and vice versa angle isn't original, but there was something particularly jarring for some South Africans here.
The ad follows a day in the life of a white citizen who lives in a township, is frowned-upon by rich black people and culminates with him being falsely accused of a crime because all white people look the same . Judge for yourselves on this one, but we're not so sure this should have been banned in South Africa
Nando's dig up the dictators
Starting with a Nando's, ending with a Nando's. We once did a list on their 15 best adverts, and that's because their viral campaigns completely dominate the discourse. They've tackled everything from xenophobia to state capture, but we believe they hit their offensive peak back in 2012.
The video shows Robert Mugabe the former authoritarian leader of Zimbabwe preparing a dinner party for all of his dictator friends. Colonel Gaddafi, Sadaam Hussain and yes, PW bloody Botha are all catered for.
We then see Mugabe reminiscing about his fond memories of history's greatest monsters. We see him engage in a water gun fight with Gaddafi, and push Botha on the swings while he waves an old apartheid flag. As darkly-brilliant as this was, it crossed the line for the censors:
Tags: comedyNandosnandos adSouth Africa
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
06/07/2026
Long-developed relationships and informal access, three production models, and c...
06/07/2026
The deal follows Lumine's recent acquisition of Synamedia's video-networ...
06/07/2026
This former SportsCenter producer is shaping local-team studio coverage to surro...
06/07/2026
IMS Productions and FOX Sports deployed more than 100 cameras, 32 onboard feeds,...
06/07/2026
Lumine Group Inc. has announced the completion of its acquisition of the Video Network Business from Synamedia. The business will operate as a standalone compan...
06/07/2026
NASCAR has announced a content and commercial partnership with Motorsport Network, a motorsports and automotive media platform, to distribute NASCAR original co...
06/07/2026
Versant Media Group has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Full Swing, a sports technology company, from Bruin Capital and a group of minority investor...
06/07/2026
DAZN has announced global broadcast rights to 3ICE, a professional hockey format featuring three skaters and a goalkeeper per side, with no power plays or offsi...
06/07/2026
Bundle gains 100 new synths & more
Synth Anthology 5 the largest and most feature-packed edition of UVI's hardware synth emulation bundle, bringing toge...
06/07/2026
Available now via free firmware update
MOTU have just announced that three of their popular audio interfaces now boast official Milan Certification. The 16A...
06/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz completes Hunter Preliminary Design Review for the Integrated Co...
06/07/2026
The R&S IMAGER from Rohde & Schwarz uses millimeter wave imaging to inspect the ...
06/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
06/07/2026
Digital Domain Appoints Industry Veteran Patrick Davenport as Executive Vice Pre...
06/07/2026
Gravity Media USA appoints Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development
Brie Clayton July 6, 2026
0 Comments
The strategic new appointment supports...
06/07/2026
Remote Editing Without Cloud Storage in Resolve
Michael Cioni July 6, 2026
0 Comments
This is a step-by-step guide that demonstrates how to setup your...
06/07/2026
Automatic Caption Translation in Adobe Premiere Pro
Colin Smith July 6, 2026
0 Comments
Here I showcase the innovative automatic caption translation f...
06/07/2026
Flavor's First Ever Managing Director Neal Cohen Retires; Longstanding Execu...
06/07/2026
How Adam Rosenwach Pivoted from Music to Medtech Without Missing a Beat What do the rehearsal room and the boardroom have in common? More than you might think...
06/07/2026
Zhongyi Optics unveils the Dreamy Zone T1 FF Cine Lens Series on Indiegogo with ...
06/07/2026
Techtel debuts insyght: making ST 2110 media discovery easy
intellisphereinsyght2026
6 July Written By Suzanne Costello
Sydney, Australia - 06 July 2026 T...
06/07/2026
Monday 6 July 2026
Sky agrees to acquire ITV Media & Entertainment, creating a ...
06/07/2026
Fresh from his World Cup heroics with Cabo Verde, Roberto Pico' Lopes will join the RT panel for Argentina v Egypt tomorrow and for the England v Norway q...
06/07/2026
Nations have long invested in domestic infrastructure to advance their economies, protect and use their data, and take advantage of technology opportunities in ...
06/07/2026
Every year, the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) reveals where thousands of AI researchers have decided to put their work.
This year's ...
06/07/2026
A death can be unsuspicious, but it has to be explained
What happened to Ke...
05/07/2026
We've gone to another level of integrating the graphics into the set architecture' - Zac Fields, SVP, Graphic Technology and Integration, FOX Sports...
05/07/2026
Browser-based and desktop apps available
Digital Sunset Studios have been busy working on an interesting project: a free software tool that provides compute...
04/07/2026
When Canada qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026, OneSoccer knew this wasn'...
04/07/2026
Celebrates company's 80th anniversary
Rhodes have recently revealed that they will be producing a limited run of electric pianos in celebration of their...
04/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Empower Youth Broadcasting Program
Brie Clayton July 3, 2026
0 Comments
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and Blackmagi...
04/07/2026
iZotope Joins Boris FX
Boris Yamnitsky July 3, 2026
0 Comments
iZotope, the team behind RX and Ozone, is joining Boris FX. A letter from founder Boris...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
New bundle & three Single Packs
Continuing to expand their already sizeable orchestral collection, VSL's latest release introduces three new Single Pack...
03/07/2026
Venue installs new ATC-equipped control room
LSO St Luke's, a unique music venue that also serves as the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, have rec...
03/07/2026
Caden Pearson appointed new Commissioning Editor for NITV
3 July, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has strengthened its commitment...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Death Star
Andy Marken July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Look, I can't get involved. I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire; I hate i...
03/07/2026
Berklee's New Visual Identity: Honoring Our History, Building for What's...
03/07/2026
Scripps Research scientists awarded $2M to advance global disease surveillance Two Gates Foundation grants will expand wastewater surveillance and AI-driven dis...
03/07/2026
Joan Pulupa joins Scripps Research faculty to study the organization of DNA in brain cells and its links to neurodegeneration Using smell-sensing neurons and ad...
02/07/2026
Entering her senior year, this hometown girl is paving a career in live sports production gaining experience in replay and audio and as a TD
In the live-sports...
02/07/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
While you're all gathered around the table for your Christmas dinner this year, we'd wager some good money that at least one middle-aged relative is going chime in with the phrase everybody gets so offended these days , blaming millennials for getting things banned in South Africa.
