South Africa's ad board ordered Kia to pull a bakkie ad over Parkinson's complaints

Launch the Kia Tasman bakkie in South Africa under the line 'Built for rough. Tuned for smooth.'

The TV spot contrasted shaking drivers of old bakkies with a smooth-riding Tasman driver; Kia pointed to vibrating-exhaust cues linking the movements to vehicles, and cited a pre-broadcast legal review calling the spot acceptable hyperbole.

On July 8, 2026 the ARB upheld the complaint, found a breach of the Code's offence clause and instructed Kia to remove or amend the advertisement.

Kia South Africa's TV advert for the Tasman bakkie opened with several people struggling through everyday tasks because they were shaking uncontrollably, before revealing the movements came from the rough ride of their old bakkies. A Tasman driver enjoying a smooth ride closed the spot under the slogan 'Built for rough. Tuned for smooth.'

A consumer with a close family member living with Parkinson's disease complained that the depiction resembled symptoms of Parkinson's and other neurological conditions used for entertainment. Kia denied any medical depiction, arguing the shaking represented the rough, uncomfortable ride of competitor bakkies, that vibrating-exhaust scenes made the cause clear, and that a legal expert had pre-cleared the ad as acceptable hyperbole permitted by the parody rules of the Code of Advertising Practice.

The Advertising Regulatory Board's directorate, in a July 8, 2026 ruling, found that while viewers would ultimately understand the intended message, the advert initially created the impression the characters were suffering from a neurological disorder — and 'the subsequent explanation does not retrospectively dispel the initial impression'. Using apparent symptoms as the basis for humour, with the vehicle presented as the solution, could reasonably be seen as trivialising those symptoms, so the complaint was upheld under the clause prohibiting advertising that offends public sensitivities.

The opening read as neurological symptoms, and the ARB held that a later reveal cannot undo that first impression

Using apparent symptoms of a real condition as the setup for humour risks trivialising them for those who live with them

A pre-broadcast legal sign-off did not protect the ad once a regulator weighed the offence clause against it

Regulators judge the first impression, not the reveal: a late explanation cannot retrospectively dispel an opening that read as mocking a real condition.

The July 8, 2026 ruling instructed Kia to remove or amend the advertisement. Kia maintained the commercial depicted ride quality rather than any medical condition.