Savanna’s unique #DecoloniseAutocorrect campaign has been awarded for both Direct Use of Mobile and brought home South Africa’s wantlha ka dinako Cannes Lion win for Digital Craft, Technology, Native and Built-in features.

“Savanna is a proudly South African brand that has a crisp, dry and witty perspective on daily life in our country. By keeping our finger on the pulse of society we were able to recognise the challenges our local people and cultures faced when trying to send a message to their friends. While South Africa hasn’t been a British colony for ages we all still have to use the Queen's English on our phones, ultimately, ignoring the other 10 languages we speak in South Africa. The time was right to decolonise autocorrect (with a simple mobile hack) on South African’s phones and to encourage locals to use their vernacular languages more when talking to friends and commenting or engaging on social media. Each of the languages’ 500 most-used words were added to a list and available for download. Finally bathong didn’t transpire as bathing and waar is jy didn’t become warriors is joy anymore. It’s revolutionary and another victory of freedom for South Africa,” said Eugene Lenford, marketing manager at Savanna.

#DecoloniseAutocorrect resonated with jurors around the world and in the past 12 months has won two international One Show merits for Utility, Innovation and Transformation; a Silver Digital Clio Award; a bronze Loerie; and was a D&AD Impact Finalist. “We are incredibly proud to work alongside WPP Team Liquid who is such an exceptional creative agency, but more than that, we are thrilled that the cut through work behind these awards is also winning with consumers. The positive momentum in brand equity and volume growth over the last year is testament to that.”

The popular cider brand has become a cultural icon in South Africa and has stayed true to its brand purpose and remained crisp, dry and consistent throughout the toughest of times. From the start of Covid-19, consumers saw the launch of the new #SiyavannaSouthAfrica proposition and initiatives like the Savanna Virtual Comedy Bar, the addition of unique new variants like Savanna Jean and the relaunch of the popular Angry Lemon. All of this continued to entrench the brand in the hearts and minds of their consumers.

“All of the growth and accolades received over the past year is a nod to the exceptional level of creativity and the relevance of the work to our consumer community who support us fiercely, engage with us, and allow us to laugh with them at all of the human truths and local quirks of South Africans. This makes us more than just a funny brand – it makes us distinctive and memorable. We are always working on new ideas along with our creative partner WPP Team Liquid and will continue to entertain our consumers with cut through experiences and executions,” concluded Lenford.