FLY SAFAIR AD BANNED BECAUSE OF NO MASKS, DAYS AFTER PASSENGER REMOVED FROM PLANE FOR NOT WEARING A MASK

When it comes to rules and regulations, and especially the law, you’ve got to practice what you preach. This is a lesson Fly Safair recently had to learn the hard the way.

While it made headlines when the low-cost airline removed a passenger from one of their airplanes over the weekend for refusing to wear a mask, a few days later they launched a brand-new TV commercial showing family and friends having a good time – with no social distancing in place an none of them wearing masks.

Business Insider reports that in one scene in the short commercial, three women are shown having cocktails next to a pool. They, the Advertising Regulatory Bureau (ARB) conceded, could fall within the exception that allows eating and drinking in public. But "none of the five people in the background appear to be wearing masks", the ARB said.

In an attempt to explain themselves, Business Insider further reports the airline hit back saying that they shot only the beginning of the ad, with masked attendants and passengers on the plane, and had reused old footage for the remainder in order to save money at a time when the airline industry is under great financial stress.

The ARB also said the disclaimer that "some scenes of this commercial were filmed pre-Covid-19. FlySafair supports the use of facemasks" were too small to read and doesn’t disclaim the airline from anything. The disclaimer was added to the final scene of the commercial.

Image credits: Business Insider