Crop circles appearing in the maize field of a farm in Heidelberg had South Africans baffled as 'breaking news' bulletins played out on television screens across South Africa last week, with even DJs talking about it on air. But by Saturday, the April Fools' joke, masterminded by Net#work BBDO, had been revealed: the crop circles aligned to form the Cell C logo.
Now that the secret is out, Net#work BBDO is not allowing its handiwork to go unnoticed and is turning it into the only and largest 'fly over billboard' in South Africa. Negotiations are currently underway with domestic carriers to make a special onboard announcement alerting passengers to view the massive "C For Yourself" spectacle, as they soar overhead.
The co-ordinated ad burst was no easy task as creative executive director Julian Watt explains: "Once we had convinced a farmer to let us use one of his fields, we soon found out how difficult it is to create seven, 30m diameter, perfectly aligned circles, taking up a total area the size of three rugby fields, among maize that is over nine feet tall.
"Then both farm workers and Net#workers, narrowly escaping puff adders, physically stomped on enough maize to create the client's logo. And the genuine-looking farmer testifying to the circles? Well, he was actually a policeman."
An almost unattainable turn around time from briefing to completion had Fresh Eye Film Production director Jonathan Parkinson's adrenaline pumping. "Time aside, I really enjoyed directing this commercial with its hard hitting, breaking news feel, which we accomplished using a handheld camera."
This project was a leap of faith by Net#work, who had a team of about ten all working together to pull off what has never been done before.
Matching Cell C to the traditional joke day of the year could have been a little dangerous, but Watt says, "This shows that Cell C knows how to have some fun. Anyway, special days are not new to this brand. It was launched using eclipse day (21 June 2001). This was the timely platform we took advantage of to set a tone of clever, fun and thought-provoking for this challenger brand."
Cell C marketing head Simon Camerer says this campaign matches the brand's profile exactly - fun and cheeky and, of course, the trick today is to use unusual advertising vehicles to catch people's attention.
