Howard Music picks up PanSALB award with MetropolitanRepublic for FNB TV campaign

The PanSALB (Pan South African Language Board) Multilingualism Awards, were held at the Sandton Convention Centre on Saturday, 20 February. FNB's brand advertising was recognised for contributing to multilingualism in South Africa by winning an award in the Media Section.

This is the first time FNB has been recognised for its contribution to multilingualism in South Africa by the PanSALB and indeed is the first Bank to receive an award by the PanSALB for its advertising.

FNB's brand advertising agency MetropolitanRepublic created a series of commercials to communicate in a unique, relevant and emotive way, FNB's brand promise of helpfulness - “how can we help you?” to the South African public. The advertising was produced in several different creative renditions using English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa and Sesotho and flighted on national television.

This specific ad, “Remember”, is the first Sepedi commercial ever to be flighted on television! The ad takes the target audience on a journey down memory lane, referencing some of the most memorable hairstyles from the 80's with their vernacular slang names. For example, “Chicco-style”, coined after the hairstyle of the local singer, or “perm” flash onto the screen. Also mentioned is the unforgettable 80's local comedy horror, ‘Lesilo'.

“We played around with a few styles of music and, even though Kwela originated prior to the 80's, we all agreed that it suited the commercial, being as it was the root for several 80's township styles,” says Adam.

“Once all the musicians had been recorded, the trick was to make the track sound authentic. A few EQ and compression effects helped give the track that authentic period sound.”

Click here to view FNB "Remember".