It’s always good to start the weekend with a laugh, and Gordon Muller’s satirical take on what appears to be a seriously ridiculous stance by the ASA on what comprises “sexual” imagery used in out of home media is just that. At the same time, he raises an issue that the media industry thought it had put to bed when the men in grey shoes were put out to pasture. Apparently not. Besides reintroducing archaic restrictions on advertising, the ASA hasn’t done research in South Africa, but has taken its lead from Wales. We all know that the ASA has had some funding issues, but seriously? Wales?
Talking about funding issues, MA(SA) is trying hard to resolve the impasse that saw media bodies withdraw funding their levies used to fund SAARF and ASA. Now all parties have come together, delivered their proposals, and once more, we wait to hear how MA(SA) correlates and uses the information to drive a more sustainable system.
Sometimes, in this world of chaos and corruption and natural disasters and wars, we need something that takes us out of the ordinary and puts us right into the world of ‘extraordinary’. Filmmaker James Cameron and National Geographic are doing just that with their Deepsea Challenge in which they will attempt to reach the Mariana Trench, the world’s deepest point. Great strides in technology will allow them to do this, and allow us, the wide-eyed public, to watch online and via social media. As my daughter would say, “awesome”. And it is.
