South African storytelling rewarded

The agency's string of creative work with a distinctly South African relevance led to a particularly successful 2009 Loeries Awards festival. Having gone into the 2009 Loeries Awards as the agency with the most finalists (54), it bagged a Grand Prix, 3 gold, 8 silver, 12 bronze Loeries, 1 “Gold Craft” certificate and 6 “Craft” certificates.

The Young, Gifted and Black campaign for Channel O, which was awarded a Grand Prix based on its breadth of creativity and success in embracing different kinds of media, is one of which Ntshingila is particularly proud.

“It's a testimony to the talent we have here that we have managed to take the ethos of the Nina Simone classic and give it meaning again in so many creative ways. Furthermore, the team behind this Grand Prix is a young one that was given the chance to fly and they certainly made the most of the opportunity.”

The agency's two gold awards in the TV and Cinema Commercials categories have been South African favourites as of late. “The SA United ad which sees car guards take on “boytjies” and café owners squaring up to the “mamas” is something to which all South Africans can relate,” adds Ogilvy executive creative director Fran Luckin.

Similarly, Ogilvy Cape Town's heart-warming, documentary-style Volkswagen commercial, which tells the story of the rehabilitation of a maimed cheetah, strikes a chord with many South Africans. “As South Africans, we love animals and the story is touching at this level, but it's also a metaphor for the ‘can do' attitude that we are starting to adopt as a nation,” states Luckin.