000301 South Africans Debate Fast-food Ad

Johannesburg, South Africa - A fast-food chain that uses offbeat ads for its spicy chicken faced criticism Wednesday for a TV spot showing a blind woman being rammed into a light pole by her chicken-hungry guide dog.

In most countries, the Nando's ad would spark controversy. In South Africa - which is emerging from apartheid and is on the verge of outlawing discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation and disabilities - it caused an uproar.

After the 35-second ad appeared on television nationwide, dozens of sighted and blind South Africans protested this week at Nando's outlets. Callers jammed radio talk show lines to speak for or against the ad.

The Advertising Standards Authority, an industry body whose decisions are enforced by law, announced Wednesday it found the ad to be "offensive" and ordered its immediate withdrawal.

"All South Africans have a right to be treated with dignity and respect," authority Executive Director Deline Beukes said in a telephone interview.

Nando's is one of South Africa's most successful businesses, with 148 outlets here and others in 15 more countries, including Australia, Britain, Canada and Israel.

The company gained prominence with an ad campaign that pokes fun at most everyone: gays, Indians, the elderly, Rastafarians, even President Clinton. The company ran an ad during the president's 1998 visit showing a mock Clinton ordering a Monica Lewinsky lookalike along with his chicken.

"We're certainly not PC," Nando's Managing Director Brian Sacks said. "We do push the boundaries."

But Nando's never intended to hurt anyone's feelings, Sacks said. Even before the advertising authority made its ruling, the company had decided to withdraw the ad, he said.

Callers to radio talk shows said it was especially important in post- apartheid South Africa to openly discuss any perceived slight.

"If we don't deal with these issues up front we'll never get on with the transformation of South Africa," a man who gave his name only as Marebe said on SAFM radio.

One caller to Radio 702 said she was blind and was not offended by the ad.

"Anyone who can't laugh at themselves should move to another planet," the woman said.

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