Vodafone apologizes for campaign featuring Abla Fahita

CAIRO –3 January 2018: Vodafone Egypt apologized for its advertising campaign which featured Abla Fahita after holding a meeting with Makram Mohamed, head of the Supreme Media Council, who previously banned the campaign from airing on TV.

“The company was not aware that the council is the sole authority that is responsible for regulating and monitoring all media content delivered to the public; the advertisement fell short of the council’s content standards,” Ahmed Seliem, the undersecretary of the Media Supreme Council, said in press remarks on Tuesday.

“Initiated by Vodafone, the meeting was aimed to clarify matters and lay the basis for future cooperation between the two parties and the remaining official concerned entities,” Vodafone Egypt’s Tuesday statement said.

In December 2017, the Supreme Media Council banned Vodafone’s Abla Fahita advertisement from airing, citing that the commercial advertisement contains inappropriate phrases and scenes that violate public taste and values.

In response, Vodafone Egypt pulled all its ads from media outlets and TV channels, contending that the ban was “surprising”.

The statement said that the company has proceeded with editing the previous form of the ad after its meeting with the Consumer Protection Agency; it further concurred that the company respects the values of the Egyptian society.