South Africa, July 9 -- There have been a lot of cynical brands and advertising agencies who have used the Covid-19 catastrophe to either scare or hoodwink people into buying their products. Often, old ads have been repurposed to fit with the new narratives.

Foremost among these brands are those promoting health and hygiene and many has been the time the communication has been deliberately misleading in saying, or implying, that the virus is like a germ. It is not . but that is a story for another day.

One of the areas in which brands have had to tread very carefully has been the economic impact on ordinary people, who have either lost their jobs because of lockdown, or been placed on short or forced leave.

Gumtree, the online sales po...