Copywriter Khaya Dlanga remarks, "u-Carmen pushed the boundaries in terms of producing a proudly South African Xhosa opera, paying no attention to nay-sayers, realizing their dream. We captured the realization of this dream of African filmmaking, creating our own version of Speed, with a bomb on a minibus taxi, telling the story in old-school African cinema style."

"I recalled my earliest introduction to township theatre and cinema, and incorporated its origins, the African tradition of storytelling, makeshift sound effects and sets, when we set about developing a concept for the ad," says art director Ntsikelelo Nukwa. "It only seemed fitting that Nando's intro for u-Carmen paid tribute to where it all began. I can still remember an artist in Gugulethu who used plastic film to sketch on, a 1kg coffee tin, a torch and a white sheet. The shows lasted no longer than 30 minutes each with an exclusive audience of 10, each paying 5c for the movie which was 'screened' in a bungalow-theatre."

Speaking from Cannes, elated executive creative director, Ross Chowles, said Nando's is known for its unorthodox yet thought-provoking advertising. "But this ad benchmarks the use of cinema and the wealth of inspiration within our culture. To me, it also demonstrates the value of and clear need for more black professionals in the ad industry. We could have developed another concept, but no other concept would quite have matched this one which was inspired by a glimpse into township life."

Cape Town creative director Darren McKay adds, "And we didn't stop after producing a good commercial. Understanding the irreverence of the Nando's chicken brand, we had to take our advertising campaign to another level, by using a local actor to do live performances of the ad at cinemas just before the screening of u-Carmen.

"It was a spectacular combination of visual and audio delights - I'm confident we could not have taken this interactive advertising experience any further."