Twelve languages, and the ones campaigns use
South Africa has twelve official languages: English, Afrikaans, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Sepedi, Setswana, Sesotho, Xitsonga, siSwati, Tshivenda, isiNdebele and, since 2023, South African Sign Language. English carries most national advertising, but isiZulu, isiXhosa, Afrikaans and Sesotho reach audiences and emotions that English does not, and radio in local languages remains a major channel. Real speech mixes languages within a sentence, so copy that is grammatically pure can still sound stiff. Machine translation and synthetic voices are weaker for most of these languages than for English or Afrikaans, so budget for native writers and reviewers, and check whether a tool supports a language at all before planning around it.
POPIA and the Information Regulator
The Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013, enforceable since its grace period ended on 1 July 2021, treats biometric information as special personal information, so building a digital twin or voice model from a presenter's recordings needs consent and a clear, limited purpose. Electronic direct marketing to people who are not existing customers needs opt-in consent, which affects personalised video and messaging campaigns. Sending personal information abroad, including to cloud services that process recordings, is allowed only under conditions such as adequate protection or consent. The Information Regulator enforces the Act and can investigate complaints. Keep a register of every real person whose face or voice appears in generated content, with the consent, purpose and term for each.
The ARB Code, and getting representation right
The Advertising Regulatory Board applies its Code of Advertising Practice to complaints about ads, having taken over from the former Advertising Standards Authority, and the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 sets the legal standard for misleading claims. The harder test is public. Portrayals of race, hair, skin and class have caused national backlash for brands, and South Africans expect to see their own communities, townships, suburbs and accents rather than a generic cast. Generation models drift towards narrow, imported looks unless they are told otherwise. The studio's saved characters let a team approve a representative cast once, with local input, and reuse it across assets instead of hoping each new generation gets it right.
Data costs, formats and platforms
Mobile data is expensive for many South Africans, who buy prepaid bundles and notice what heavy video costs them. Short, compressed video, strong static formats and assets sized for WhatsApp travel further than long, high-bitrate films. WhatsApp is central to everyday communication and increasingly to customer service and commerce, while Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube carry most social advertising, and Takealot leads online retail. Television and radio still reach audiences that social media misses. Test generated video on mid-range Android phones on a mobile connection, not on an office screen, and provide captions, because many first views happen with the sound off to save data or avoid attention.
Updated 25 September 2026 · General information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the current text with your legal team before relying on it.