Some Keetmanshoop residents have criticised a Toyota Namibia advert on a cemetery wall, calling its “Here. For life” tagline insensitive to those with loved ones buried there.
The advert, meant to generate traction to the motor brand, has been at the cemetery for more than two weeks.
The company says Toyota donated the wall, and it had agreed with the Keetmanshoop Town Council to use it for advertising.
The council did not respond to questions sent to it.
The Namibian has called and sent text messages to Keetmanshoop mayor Melody Swartbooi, deputy mayor Easter Isaak, and other councillors for comment since last Thursday, but received no response.
Eveline Willemse, a resident, told The Namibian yesterday that the tag line is a mockery as it potrays human life as more frail than material.
“For me its actually a mockery. Some of us have buried our people there and would like to think that they were of value even in their death. More valuable than cars. But for companies its about money,” Willemse says.
Local pastor Anton Losper says residents who find the advert insensitive or offensive should take comfort in the biblical words that say: “Nothing is permanent, all things will waste away.
Only the word of God will remain forever.”
Losper says he believes that the advert will not be there forever. He warns residents not to compare it to human life.
“Human life will always remain precious whether in life or death. But let us focus on the living and do the most with the life we still have left instead of worrying ourselves with things that will also vanish,” he says.
Another spiritual leader, Gordy Titus, says the tag line contradicts the burials that took place at the cemetery.
‘INAPPROPRIATE PLACE TO ADVERTISE’
He says the wall is not a community wall, like those at soccer stadiums, where any company can advertise and display their message.
“This wall at the cemetery should rather have been left clean or be filled with scriptures that comfort families who have suffered the loss of their loved ones,” Titus says. Keetmanshoop Toyota manager Fourie Visser says the company has used different taglines during Toyota’s more than 80 years of existence.
Visser says it is ironic that when the company was invited to donate to the construction of the wall in exchange for a year of free advertising, their tagline is ‘Here. For life’.
He says Toyota aims to provide peace of mind to its customers by assuring them that the products they buy are of such high quality that they will last for generations.
“If you remember, our first tag line was: ‘Alles loop reg, altyd reg, Toyota’. Our previous tag line was: ‘Leading the way’, because of the innovation the company introduced. And now it’s: ‘Here. For life’, because we want to consolidate our position in the market.”
“So our tag lines are changing every 10 or 15 years, and our current tag line was already introduced before the advertising opportunity at the cemetery came. We obviously mean no offence to anyone,” Visser says.
The manager says Toyota donated building materials for two 3×3 metre blocks but did not disclose the cost.
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