OwenKessel wins LIA Award for acclaimed TVC "The Boxer"

"The Boxer" TVC first hit South Africa's screens in August 2012 and tells the story of the young and impatient boxer, Thapelo 'Tick Tock' Mokoena. Thapelo initially cuts corners in his boxing training and finds himself KO'd in the second round of his first title fight. After much time and effort, he makes a glorious comeback. The message pays homage to Amstel's new pay-off line (and campaign), 'Take Your Time'.

The commercial was directed by Greg Gray of Velocity Films, and was shot at iconic locations around Johannesburg. The advert is set to the soundtrack 'Crystalised' by The xx, which was re-recorded and enhanced in SA.

LIA awarded the "The Boxer" for its carefully crafted direction and post-production, which lends itself to an emotional interpretation of an exceptional human story.

Donovan Bryan, Executive Creative Director at OwenKessel and lead on the Amstel creative direction comments, "The Amstel team at OwenKessel are so excited to have achieved a silver LIA with our first award entry for "The Boxer". It was the only entry from South Africa to receive an award in the Online Film Production and Post Production for cinematography category; this truly puts South Africa's film talent on the map. We chose Greg as a Director because of his tremendous ability to tell stories beautifully through his unique cinematic and post production execution. We knew his strong understanding of the role of television in advertising meant he'd bring "The Boxer "story to life through his expert understanding of his craft."

This is just the start of what OwenKessel hope to achieve with award entries for the Amstel "Take Your Time campaign".