[Orchids & Onions] Festive DStv ad gets the feet tapping

The latest, titled Festive, is airing at the moment and aimed at getting viewers in the groove for the programmes that will be flighted over the holidays.

We see a very funky, cool dude – he must be, because I know I could not pull off the over-the-top, eccentric red suit, cane and hat look (some say I struggle to pull off any look other than 'comfortable').

Every time he brings his cane to the ground, there is a flash of light descending from the heavens… and inside houses, flats, etc etc, even an underground train station, people light up – to the DStv programmes they are watching on a variety of devices, from TVs to streaming on smartphone apps.

All the while, behind is an insistent, driving, yet somehow really happy beat, which gets the feet tapping.

It’s a nice bit of theatre – or movie making – as it should be, given that DStv is in the business of entertainment. And it does stand out because, too often, media companies (and even ad agencies) don’t market themselves well enough.

So Orchids to DStv and Bomb productions for a smile-inducing piece of work.

Screengrabs from the ad.

Talking about marketing ad agencies, I take my hat off to the collective, creative skill behind the ads you will see in our supplement today celebrating FCB ad agency’s 90th anniversary in business. They all manage to say well done to the agency and, at the same time, remind people about their own brands.

Orchids all round there. Sometimes, car manufacturers waste a lot of time and money emphasising the dynamics of their products: we see them careering around corners on glorious mountain roads or gliding effortlessly through some near-fictional overseas city, which is spotless and somewhat sterile.

This approach fails to appreciate that, although around 80 percent of South African car owners say they have some kind of emotional connection with their wheels, most cars are not bought by petrolheads.

Many people, as long as they are sure the machine is going to be reliable (which most cars are these days), don’t care what’s under the bonnet or how quick it is. They love goodies and gadgets. Even my brother-in-law, who loves cars and understands them, often had his purchase decision swayed by the toys in the car.

So, it was good to see Kia not even bothering with the petrolheads in the new TV ad for its Sportage SUV.

First, I like it because it is shot in South Africa and is not some modified-soundtrack overseas slush. Second, it says nothing about the dynamics of the car. Instead, there is a compute- generated image ant, which roams over the interior of the car, showcasing the toys and the style.

The ad even self-deprecatingly refers to the ant and ponders whether it is real – and concludes that even if it isn’t – who cares? The closing shot shows the striking lines of the car to good effect.

And the interior and the goodies, plus a good looking body, will get most people down to a Kia showroom.

So an Orchid to Kia for keeping it real.

Keeping it almost nauseatingly unreal are the folks at Debt Guidance SA, whose new TV ad uses a fake soundtrack.

By fake, I mean the words being said cannot possibly be coming from the mouth of the distressed man or his distressed wife who are portrayed as some of those hundreds of thousands mired in debt.

You see, the couple is coloured. And, with the best will in the world, you cannot imagine either of them, clearly working-class people, speaking with the plummy, private school accent in the voice-over.

Lest you think I am being racist, let me say: hell, even I can’t speak like that… and very few South Africans, of whatever background, do.

The point is: why on Earth are we afraid of what we sound like? Did Debt Guidance think that allowing the people in the ad to speak in their normal voices would somehow have reduced their credibility and effectiveness? Now, that is racist. Let’s allow our own voices to be heard in all of their fascinating variety. #DownWithFakeAccents and an Onion for Debt Guidance.

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