Ja Boet, ek sê dis time to ‘retyre’

The new campaign theme, "Mad about Oil", emphasises the brand's specialist approach to lubrication, borne out of over 100 years of expertise. The focus of the campaign is the unique culture, passion and obsession for lubrication that has built market-leading brands such as Castrol GTX. The first television advertisement aired on SABC 2, 3 and on eTV on Friday 7 November.

The original Boet and Swaer commercials were made in 1988 for the launch of Castrol GTX, and developed over the years by various advertising agencies, winning several design and production awards.

Actors Ian Roberts who played Boet, Norman Anstey known as Swaer, and Fats Bookholane, in the role of Moegai, were presented with long service awards from Castrol at a farewell dinner held recently.

Says Robert Dann, General Manager: Marketing and Technology, Lubricants, "The characters became part of popular South African culture and the phrase 'Ja, Boet' was made equally famous. Good things do come to an end and we wanted to acknowledge the role the actors played in developing and maintaining the characters over the years."

The Boet, Swaer and Moegai characters contributed over many years to building Castrol's master brand awareness in South Africa which is very high at over 95%.

However, Dann says Castrol's consumer research has shown that there is low direct product association with the "Boet and Swaer" advertising. "This signalled a definite need to drive new, differentiated awareness for the brand. Our research also indicated that Castrol customers are ready for a change," he says.

"On one hand we have a brand that has single-mindedly pursued leading edge lubrication technology since its inception. On the other you have a target market that has an above average interest in cars, performance, and engines. There's a natural fit between Castrol's obsession with lubrication and the target market's obsession with their car's engines," says Dann. "The 'Mad about Oil' campaign will drive home that lubrication is our core business. The product that our customers care about is coming more to the fore, and this approach has a close fit with the core target market's passion."