AD cetera
Report on the South African commercials industry by Anton Crone
Speedy ad scores interactive first Joburg agency Ireland Davenport had viewers looking twice when they aired their ground breaking new television commercial for the new BMW M5. The challenge was to create an ad as innovative as the M5 as well as demonstrate the car’s blistering speed. Ireland Davenport’s approach was to create a speeded-up version of an ad where the images of the car and scenery are too fast to take everything in at first sight. Using the mechanism of replaying television footage on personal video recorder (PVR) decoders, viewers were then encouraged to view the commercial again at a slower speed, all the better to appreciate the M5. The interactive nature of this ad makes it a first in South Africa. Originally conceptualising a print campaign for the M5, copywriter Jenna Smith says the idea to do this on television meant the budget was quite limiting, therefore existing international footage was used for the ad. That much of that footage was clearly shot in the Cape Town area was a bonus. “The biggest challenge we faced was definitely the DStv PVR mechanism,” says Smith. “It was quite tricky to get the
BMW M5 timing right and still ensure that we kept the right balance of not really being able to see the M5 while the ad played at real time, and then revealing the details which make this car so iconic and unique when the ad is played back in slow motion.”
Response to the ad has been markedly good, inspiring various Internet articles and thousands of posts on Twitter and other social media platforms. Viewer response has apparently been as good. “People’s reactions towards this
interactive and innovative kind of advertising have been very positive and encouraging,” says Smith. “I think they thoroughly enjoyed the fact that we found a new and fun way of communicating with them.”
Santam vs Nando’s
Nando’s
The hype around the recent exchange of back-and-forth commercials between fast food chain Nando’s and insurance company Santam was due not only to the power of viral marketing but also to the industry’s ability to rise to a challenge with a sense of humour and purpose. Behind the entertaining repartee were agencies King James for Santam and Black River FC for Nando’s. As the pressure was on to respond in the most entertaining way and as quickly as possible, production companies Plank Film Productions and Bouffant had to really put the screws on to produce the ads in time to ride the wave of hype. A timeous response meant the ads had to be flighted within two days of each other. Bouffant producer Boris Vossgatter wasn’t surprised when he heard that 14 | SCREENAFRICA | June 2012
Santam
Nando’s had ‘ripped off’ their latest Santam ad, after all, someone had done it to their first Santam ad, which featured Sir Ben Kingsley and a host of look alikes. Vossgatter didn’t expect a response from Santam and King James to the Nando’s ad, but when he heard what the concept involved he was keen to get going. “We knew it would be a challenge due to the short deadline – the commercial had to be turned around to film in a mere two days. Finding a location, props and crew who were available in such a short space of time was a challenge but we made it happen.” Directed by Chloe of Fringe @ Bouffant, they cast Rob Schroder in the role of Santam spokesman – he was one of the original Sir Ben Kingsley doubles and
also created the music in that Santam ad. Schroder was soon on our screens throwing down the gauntlet to Nando’s and asking them to donate food to The Johannesburg Children’s Home to make up for their infraction. Anco Henning of Plank received a phone call from Black River FC at 11am on Wednesday 25 April, asking if they could have a Nando’s ad for them ready for the next day. “Pete Pohorsky was already busy in post-production on another commercial and wasn’t available to direct the Nando’s response,” says Henning. “But I decided that it was worth a go and within six hours managed to put the whole shoot together, find a suitable location, key crew and art department. Luckily the artist was available, the agency wrote a quirky script,
we booked in the post-production facility and the next day at 10am we shot the commercial in the Joburg CBD. And don’t think that finding two brand new yellow foam hands at short notice was easy!” Using Anthony Fridjhon, who featured in Nando’s original Santam spoof as the spokesman, the Plank team rose to the challenge and delivered – a full day ahead of ‘schedule’, even upping the ante by pledging to deliver food to the home on the last Friday of every month for a year. “It created a conversation and made an impact and that is what good ideas and advertising are all about,’ says Vossgatter. “King James was very clever with the angle of the children and the charity being the end winners.”