High Five: South Africa's Memorable Work

Cars look different to other cars. Shoes look different to other shoes. Tach gadgets have different features to other tech gadgets. But there are so many categories where there is either no differentiator, or the differentiator is only present when actually sampling the product. Whisky is one of those categories. It is for that reason that you must imbue a value into the product in order to make it stand out from the others on offer. In doing so, you give the brand value, and isn’t that what advertising should be doing? Much like tonics have been created and tailored to best enjoy a particular gin, Glenfiddich sets out to find the best water suitable to be paired with its whisky. Not just any water, the very purest of water. Water untouched by man. This film features a South African personality Maps Maponyane as he attempts to find that very water. It’s an epic exploration of a desolate land, shot beautifully which helps Glenfiddich position itself in your mind as a premium whisky, without having even tasted it.

There hasn’t been a whole lot to laugh about in the past couple years, and it seems like we are still clawing our way out of a post pandemic comedic slump. Especially in South Africa. It is for that reason that this piece stands out. Sure, it needs context. You need to know that Leo Prinsloo, the main hero in the spot, was the target of a cash in transit vehicle heist last year. You will benefit from having watched the dash cam footage of the event and the way in which Prinsloo handled the attack. Most importantly you’ll benefit by knowing that a PK is an indecent term for knocking someone out. Wrap this all up in a well written little ad and you have something that has South Africans sharing it almost as much as the original dash cam footage.

The metaverse. Virtual reality. Augmented reality. Words that are thrown around in briefings all the time, but seldom seem to come together into something that actually makes sense and gets people to engage. VW managed to deliver on all the ‘new media’ elements with the broader campaign, but this film also works just as well as a standalone piece.

Film craft is something that South Africa can do and has done really well. But more and more it feels like we are settling for less and less craft and replacing it with techniques. This piece from Coronation is beautifully crafted and shot. The piece does need some contextualising. Peter Stuyvesant, a tobacco company, ran a very successful campaign of adverts almost 50 years ago, which showed impossibly perfect lives of the rich and fabulous. Lives that became the beacon that so many South Africans defined in their minds as representing a person having ‘made it’ in life. By using this and flipping it to show only old people they manage to pull on the nostalgic heart strings of the Stuyvesant ads and land their message that you should be investing to enjoy your life now.

A story has been doing the rounds in the news and on social media about a person who is visiting KFC outlets and impersonating a food inspector in order to get free food. KFC have capitalised on this by ‘hiring’ a private investigator. The film which forms part of a broader campaign introduces us to the investigator and the challenge that lies ahead of him. I chose this piece as it has moved super quickly on the story in the media. It is shot very simply. It has a few cheeky jabs at KFC’s competitors. But mostly, it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Is there actually a fake food inspector, or has it been something KFC has created in the media? We may know one day. But right now, does it matter? It has people following the story, and sharing accordingly.