Dear Mr Swanepoel,
1. You are a complete idiot (we can't write what we'd like to).
2. We strongly recommend that you immediately stop using any products that do not have an appropriate disclaimer. ........
[Hasn't anyone realised yet that if we make enough stupid complaints like this, we won't have real competition for long? This is only going to make matters worse, not better. Neotel is just going to add more disclaimers, and refuse to offer a service to anyone who isn't prepared to swear that they will never complain about coverage. So much for asking them to lighten up on the coverage requirement. Whilst I agree that adverts should not be actively misleading, it's going way too far to kill off creativity and competitive positioning. As it is, companies in SA cannot use comparative advertising - it would be great if Neotel could use a real comparison with their competitors in ads, but they can't - so why try to stop what remains? If we stay on this path, the ads really are going to be shorter than the disclaimers. I think Neotel should sue Mr Swanepoel for loss of revenue while they record a new ad which is half disclaimers. For that matter, has no-one ever taken Telkom to the ASA for simply not providing what they claim at all?]
