Offensive Insurance Ad Removed from Airwaves

Virgin Money ad has been banned of the airwaves Complaints were lodged after the ad stated that drivers drive like invalids.

June 1 - Virgin Money, the international finance group that offers car insurance products in South Africa, bowed to public pressure and removed an ad promoting its brand from the airwaves.

The ad for car insurance stated: "You need insurance because you're driving like an invalid".

While the term 'invalid' was supposed to mean 'bad driver', it caused anger among interest groups such as the Quadriplegic Association of South Africa which immediately lodged a complaint to have the commercial halted.

A spokewoman for Virgin Money, Jolene Chait, said that she had instructed local radio stations, including 5FM and East Coast Radio to stop the broadcasting "effective immediately."

"The phrase and the word in the context of the advert were used to refer to people who are not driving their vehicles according to the generally accepted rules of the road," said Chait.

"They were in no way used to refer to paraplegics."

Nevertheless, Virgin Money saw fit to have the commercial removed and issue an apology to anybody who took offence.

"Our advert was never intended to be malicious," emphasized Chait. "We sincerely apologize for any offence or distress caused by our radio ad."

The Quadriplegic Association of South Africa accepted the apology and praised Virgin for addressing the problem and taking such swift action.