These words‚ on an advertising billboard‚ left a bad taste in the mouth of a mother in Johannesburg who said the word “fork” could be interpreted as an expletive.

But the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa (ASA) this week dismissed her complaint about the advert having a vulgar connotation.

The billboard by Real Fish and Chips said‚ “Other fish and chips shops don’t give a fork‚” and featured an image of a fish holding a fork.

Marna Scheepers complained that the billboard on the N1 South‚ just before the Botha Avenue off-ramp‚ would be offensive to children.

“The complainant argued that the advertisement suggest the swearing word … which she felt was inappropriate and unnecessary‚” the authority said.

Scheepers argued that children would want to know what the word on the sign meant‚ and said that she would not know how to explain this to them.

In its defence‚ the restaurant apologised‚ saying that no offence was intended‚ it saw nothing wrong with the material and “noted that its mascot has a physical fork in its hand”.

The restaurant also challenged Scheepers to “explain that other fish and chips stores do not provide forks to eat with”.

The ASA ruled in favour of the restaurant‚ stating that people were likely to “get” the joke‚ but the billboard on its own did not contain any offensive or vulgar wording.

“Given the manner in which the phrase is displayed‚ parents are given the opportunity to either be honest with their children‚ and explain the double entendre (depending on whether they feel their children are mature enough to understand it) or rely on the literal imagery and words used‚ thereby limiting it to the provision of a real fork‚” said the ASA.

 “It can be accepted that the respondent’s choice of humour might not appeal to all consumers. But this relates to a matter of personal taste‚ rather than one of objective offence“.