[Orchids & Onions] Wimpy dishes up Orchid winner

And the fast-food joint's ads - on television and in print - have always been attractive.

© Marco Mayer– 123RF.com

The latest TV execution is no exception - we see a bunch of ordinary South Africans tucking into a Wimpy breakfast. It's a nice cross-section of society, without seemingly straining to be the "rainbow nation".

I was glad to see some of the harder-working, and least appreciated, people in South Africa - like cops and nurses - being featured.

But apart from the feel-good atmosphere of that diverse collection of citizens, the ad did not neglect to showcase the mouth-watering nature of a Wimpy breakfast.

When it is done well, it is brilliant - and we had an amazing breakfast a while ago at a Wimpy at an Engen filling station on the N1 on the way to the Waterberg. It was almost as good as my wife makes.

So Orchids to Wimpy - again. There has been a lot of criticism levelled at Murray & Roberts in the wake of a bridge support structure collapsing in Joburg this week. One example of the comments was: Would a black-owned firm or the government have been given such an easy ride by the media?

Many have criticised what they say has been a slow and evasive reaction from the company's chief executive, Henry Laas.

Quite frankly, I don't know what the critics expect. A press conference on the scene within an hour of the tragedy becoming news? Immediate answers on the causes while EMS personnel are rescuing victims?

Laas, to my mind, made no attempt to run away and was available for questions from the media even on Thursday night, when he had little to say.

He also was as open and sympathetic - and as humble and apologetic - as he could be under the circumstances.

Think back to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and how BP's chief executive reacted, complaining loudly in public he was under stress, never mind the destruction to thousands of kilometres of coastline.

Laas didn't behave like that and he looked genuinely concerned - for the victims and for the investigation - when he did appear on camera.

He also held up well under a live grilling by Redi Tlhabi on 702 and on Cape Talk.

There is no doubt that the collapse has damaged Murray & Roberts - its share price decline has
been clear evidence of that. Yet I think Laas did well in handling the situation and did what he could to protect the reputation of his brand.

For that he gets an Orchid.
And please remember, this in no way means I am condoning any negligence or incompetence in this incident. (Incidentally, I think the critics who saw a racial difference are not at all far off the mark. The government and BEE groups are often given a far tougher ride than some Big Business entities.)

Someone who also did well, from an image and reputation point of view, was Joburg mayor Parks Tau, who was one of the first on the scene and who, long before anyone thought of it, announced free bus services to help cope with the expected transport problems in the wake of the closure of the highway.

Good thinking by him and his advisers - who include, I must note, former Star editor Makhudu Sefara.

Well done all around - you get a communication Orchid. And there is a lesson in there - the best public relations people are ex-journos...

Margi Naidoo sent me this note: "In the name of sanity can you please award the King Price Insurance advert a bag of Onions? The voice - apparently a voice in the wind - is teeth-grindingly, nail-bitingly annoying.

"I thought it had been removed from radio but it's baaaack!"

I must say that I agree with Margi, but I am even more irritated by the brand's latest TV ad.

It features a gormless-looking dude (is this a prerequisite for "funny" ads these days?) doing the washing up. Suddenly, a giraffe (yes, a giraffe!) sticks its head in through the window and licks one of the dirty plates clean. The dude looks surprised, then puts the "cleaned" plate with the others he has washed.

What? And, again I say, "What?" Perhaps the people who made this ad subscribe to the belief that, if your promotional material is idiotic and nonsensical and has the potential to annoy people, then that annoyance will make them remember the brand.

That's the only reason I can think of to justify this silliness. There is no link to the brand or to insurance. So it gets an Onion from me. Click here to view the ad.

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