“Go Back to the Drawing Board”: Pedros Advertisement Causes Division Among South Africans

• The local chicken restaurant Pedros uploaded their latest advertisement on TikTok to promote one of their burgers
• In the clip, a masked man holding a sharp object tried to rob one of the establishments but failed in his mission
• South African members of the online community were divided after watching the footage, with some applauding the brand's creative juices and others thinking the advertisement was done in poor taste
• A creative director for an advertising and communications group told Briefly News how one can weigh humour and shock value against the risk of offending or alienating audiences

The flame-grilled chicken restaurant Pedros released an advertisement to promote their Carnival Burger in a skit showing an armed robbery taking place. However, some people on the internet weren't fond of their creativity.

On 12 December, 2025, Pedros posted a skit showing a masked robber with a weapon entering the restaurant's kitchen, telling the staff to leave so he could get his hands on the new burger and a bottle of Tropical Chilli sauce. However, the burger fell on the floor. In a hurry, the man took the sauce bottle and left. The clip cut to the 'manager,' who had something to say about the ordeal.

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Advertising creative director weighs in

While speaking to Briefly News, Joe Public creative director Daniel Fisher shared how he weighs humour and shock value against the risk of offending or alienating audiences.

"I weigh humour very highly. On a personal level, it's always been my creative style, but even from an evidence-based perspective, it has been shown to be very effective in selling products."

He stated that his rule for being humorous and shocking should tick three boxes:

1. The work is actually very funny and clever (because often it's not).
2. The work is relevant to the product you're selling (so not humour and shock for the sake of it).
3. The work is insightful (it's born out of an interesting human behavioural observation).

Pedros' advertisement divides South Africans

Hundreds of social media users flocked to the comment section with their thoughts. Some people who felt the advertisement was in poor taste and portrayed violence against women called for it to be removed from the internet. However, others defended the chicken restaurant and noted that it was only a playful skit.

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@michaela_massey shared under the post:

"As someone who works in advertising, I get it. We’re tired, and new concepts are hard to come by in Dezemba. But this is not it, guys."

@sadness8it asked with a laugh:

"Am I the only one who thinks this is creative?"

@ro_kg2 said to Pedros:

"Go back to the drawing board. This is not appealing at all."

An amused @tammyzn remarked:

Gosh, you scared me for a second."

@user23734954020290, who watched the advertisement on their For You Page, gave their opinion about who the thief was:

"No, man. The guy wearing a mask doing the robbery... he is the one appearing at the end."

@hotgirlsibo added in the comment section:

"Who approved this? Considering the state of the country, this wasn’t funny at all."

A portion of @parttimesimp's comment read:

"I feel the outrage would be more appropriate if we were to say 'you wasted food for an ad when we are currently experiencing an economic crisis.' That feels more closely aligned with the actual ad than attempting to string it together with tone-deaf advertising in a gender-based violence crisis."

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Watch the TikTok video posted on Pedros' account below:

3 Other stories about advertisements

• In another article, Briefly News reported that Nando's aired an advertisement showcasing what it meant to be proudly South African and included several of the nation's well-known faces.
• Springboks Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth, along with UFC champion Dricus du Plessis, had South Africans laughing when they starred in an advertisement for an accommodation site.
• South Africans applauded a Vaseline advertisement that celebrated true African culture on Heritage Day.

Source: Briefly News