A year later he says nothing has changed... and if anything, the Pendoring Awards are now more relevant than ever. "The ATKV certainly believes this and hence is a platinum sponsor of the Awards again this year," he states.
The cultural organisation is a loyal supporter of the Awards, which Gouws believes are unique in their recognition of creativity in a mother tongue. "And here we are talking mainly Afrikaans because that is what the primary goal of the Awards is: to reward creativity in Afrikaans first and foremost."
The success of this led to the addition of another category for the Awards, the Truly South African Awards, which have proved to be very popular since their introduction.
"Creativity in a person's mother tongue reaps benefits for a brand that no other language, no matter how well understood or spoken by that person, can achieve," says Gouws. And it is not just about words and sentences; it is about the unique nuances and adages of that language he adds.
"Afrikaans is the ideal language for advertising precisely because of these nuances and adages. Take the Klipdrift commercial 'Met Eish Ja'. It was more than just the use of the language, but the reflection of a culture that Afrikaans-speaking people could immediately identify with. In fact, the use of these three words was so successful, it also resonated with the broader South African public."
The last Census counted 6.8 million Afrikaans-speaking people, representing the full diversity of the country. "It is always so surprising to some South Africans when they hear that only 40% of Afrikaans-speaking people are white and that they are not the majority group. The perception is that Afrikaans is a white language, but it is in fact represented in the country's population groups in varying numbers," explains Gouws.
It is also a language that is well understood by South Africans despite it not being their home language. "Afrikaans is the second language for many people. Twice as many Matric learners study Afrikaans as an additional language than any other additional language."
But despite these facts, Gouws says it is a constant battle to ensure that Afrikaans remains top of mind in creative circles. "With the recession, many brands have cut their budgets, and some international brands are not producing advertisements locally at all. While we understand these difficulties, speaking to people in their own language has a bigger impact and a lasting effect," he says.
At the end of the day local will always be lekker, he states, and brands get the results they want: loyal customers. "In an age where brands cannot rely on consumer loyalty, the Afrikaans-speaking market is still a very loyal one."
So he encourages brands and advertising agencies to be creative in Afrikaans. This year's campaign theme dares the advertising community to create new icons. "This is the industry that brought us wonderful icons such as Castrol's Boet and Swaer, and Klipdrift's friendly Frikkie and now we are calling on them to bring us new icons of the same, if not better, quality, who speak to us in our mother tongue," he says.
The sustainability of the Pendoring Awards - this is the 19th year the Awards will be held - reflects the desire of consumers to be addressed in their mother tongue. "It has become too easy to make an advertisement in English, and one of the reasons for the Pendoring Awards is to encourage agencies to understand the importance of mother-tongue communication. Pendoring will continue to reward these brands and agencies," states Gouws.
The Pendoring Awards take place at Vodacom World, Midrand, Gauteng, on 24 October. Entries are open and close on 21 July 2014. All campaigns that ran from 15 July 2013 to 21 July 2014 are eligible.
Join the Pendoring Facebook group or follow @Pendoring_ on Twitter and use the hashtag #Pendoring. For more information on the awards or to submit entries, visit www.pendoring.co.za.
