The 30-second spot opens in a KFC outlet where two attractive young strangers are waiting for their orders. They glance at each other shyly, smile politely, and reach out in unison for the KFC Twister placed on the counter between them. As their fingers touch, they turn their heads in surprise and their eyes meet. In a flash, the girl's life flashes before her eyes - it is filled with love, romance, tenderness, happiness, laughter... and this man. She blinks and returns to the present moment; he smiles, kind of interested in her - maybe he caught a glimpse of what she saw? But, instead of waiting for the anticipated boy-girl interaction, she grabs the Twister, shrugs and smiles sweetly as she leaves him standing; empty-handed and confused. Obviously, a Twister from KFC is far more tempting.
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Devised by Ogilvy's creative team of Irene Styger (Copywriter), Alexa Craner (Art Director), Bridget Johnson (CD) and Fran Luckin (ECD), the commercial broke on all television stations earlier this month.
According to Ogilvy's Bridget Johnson, it is an unexpected, charming addition to a plethora of me-too commercials within this sector. "There are three things that we had going for us in this ad," she said. "The perfect, proudly South African track from local band The Arrows; the incredible performances from the two actors; and the deft touch of experienced performance director Tony Baggott."
"One of the most challenging aspects of our board was to fit the story - of approximately 14 different scenes - into 30-seconds. However, we were confident collaborating with Frieze Films would provide us with the kind of commercial that would immediately break through the clutter and resonate with our target audience."
Added Baggott: "The beauty of the script presented by Ogilvy was its simplicity, and I knew that, with the right cast, Frieze Films could deliver an exceptional piece of work.
"Critical to its success was the performance of the two leads. Together with Marina van Tonder at Casting Directors, we initiated an extensive casting process, which is essential for my performance-driven commercials.
"In the casting we were looking for performers with confidence, believability and the ability to take direction. On set in Johannesburg, both actors proved superb in all respects and brought a great deal to the spot. Energetic, enthusiastic and full of fun, they were easy to direct, and I think they both have great careers ahead of them.
"In addition, the team from Ogilvy proved a dream to work with. We were all very excited with the project from the start and realised early on that we had something special. We had a set plan for the flash forward sequence but a surprising number of 'improvised' shots made it into the cut. It's a pleasure to see this commercial on screen," he said.
Click here to view the ad. [4MB]
