Tsotsi snatches the prize

Issued by Amasa

23 May 2007

The overall Roger Garlick Award winner and four AMASA Gold recipients were announced at the prestigious AdFocus Awards. This award, initiated by the Advertising Media Association of South Africa (AMASA), aims to promote innovation in media planning and placement in South Africa.

The 2007 Roger Garlick Award went to TBWA Hunt Lascaris' 'Tsotsi campaign', entered by Media Director Bruce Williamson who walks away with the R20 000 cash prize sponsored by Oracle Airtime Sales. "Bruce Williamson's entry really stood out with its out-of-the-box thinking and the media attention it attracted," comments Rob Smuts, Chairman of AMASA, "It was ingenious in the way if affected behavioural change at little expense."

The 'Tsotsi campaign' aimed to create awareness of piracy in South Africa through word of mouth, hoping that this would be stronger than an authoritative message from an institution. The campaign also aimed to discourage consumers from purchasing fake DVD's and encourage donations to the Anti-Piracy Foundation. Several high profile media players picked up on the campaign - the value of the print publicity alone was measured at R762 000.

The true genius of the campaign was in the delivery. TBWA hired people posing as illegal DVD vendors to sell the 'pirated movie' directly to the public. Copies of the edited DVD were also sent to TV and radio stations to get the ball rolling. The DVD itself became the campaign when after a few minutes of viewing, the following message popped up saying 'Thank you for buying this DVD. Your R40 has been donated to the Anti-Piracy Foundation.' The costs of production and distribution of the DVD's were covered by the selling price - another factor in TBWA's favour.

"The creative team responsible for conceptualising the campaign had to do some convincing to get the idea approved. It's not a traditional or typical creative solution - but it certainly paid dividends," comments Smuts.

AMASA Gold Awards

Honourable mentions must be given to the following AMASA Gold Winners, awarded for excellence in media innovation - Cinevation, whose XBOX360 campaign won the Best Use of Cinema gold award. The MediaShop who, in collaboration with Yardstick, won a gold award for the Best Use of Television and Special Events/Stunts for its Eskom Power Alert Campaign. King James, whose Kulula.com credit card campaign won the award for the Best Use of Television.

The Advertising Media Association of South Africa's primary focus is the education of people with an interest in the media, marketing and advertising industry.