This is the view of Miller Matola, Brand South Africa's CEO, who believes that the 60-second commercial first screened on eTV on 5 July, encapsulates the 'can do' spirit of South African people across various walks of life, illustrating the determination of the country's citizens to overcome obstacles and find new and better ways of doing things.
The commercial features well known South Africans such as Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Baby Jake Matlala, Natalie du Toit, Trevor Noah, Lucas Radebe, Brian Mitchell, Greg Minaar, Trevor Rabin, John van der Ruit, Shaun Thomson, David Tlale and Khotso Mokoena and lesser known ones who have also defied the odds to become top achievers in their fields - such as Toya Delazy, Colin Thornton, Oyama Matomela, Andile Dube, Andy Higgins, Tebogo Skwambane, Nhkensani Nkosi, Emile Engel, Simon Ratcliffe, Zibusizo Mkhwanazi and Fatima Vawda.
"Through this television commercial, we want to get across the message that Inspiring New Ways is an over-arching country position for South Africa relating to everything we do and what we are including our people, our culture and heritage, tourism, exports, governance and investment and immigration," said Matola.
"Since our successful hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, our inclusion in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) grouping of nations and in the G20, South Africa has matured and come of age to a large degree. We are no longer an adolescent nation and this progression needs to be reflected in our brand identity and positioning."
According to Matola, the South Africans who feature in the television commercial ideally characterise the quintessential spirit of the country as they found ways to realize their dreams and achieve their goals.
"Whether it's Baby Jake Matlala proving that he was not too small to become a world champion boxer, or Oyama Matomela becoming a commercial pilot at the age of just 20, or astronomer Simon Ratcliffe who helped to bring the SKA (Square Kilometre Array) project to our country, these people all portray the essential spirit of South Africa and South Africans.
"The people in the commercial have all found ways to get ahead, improve themselves and make a contribution to society. At Brand SA, we want to inspire all South Africans to play a role in shaping the future of our country."
"In many ways, we punch above our weight in international affairs and we also occupy a strong representative position on behalf of Africa, the developing world and emerging market economies," stressed Nomsa Chabeli Mazibuko, Brand South Africa's strategic marketing and communications director.
"We have our own challenges as a country, especially with regard to issues such as education, poverty, inequality and corruption, but we as South Africans have demonstrated that we will be inspired to find new ways to overcome these challenges."
Importantly, Brand SA wanted its new slogan to be aspirational, creating a vision to which people want to aspire. It also wanted to endorse and affirm the country's abilities and capabilities which show progress and advancement from the notions of potential and possibility.
In addition, Chabeli Mazibuko said Brand SA sees the "Inspiring New Ways" slogan and television commercial as "a call to action" for South Africans to find new and better ways of doing things for the benefit of themselves, their communities and the country as a whole.
The TVC will be widely screened throughout July as part of a schedule that includes eTV, SABC 1, 2 & 3 and M-Net.
