Ogilvy and SAB celebrate 45 years of friendship

In that time, SAB has grown from South Africa's largest brewer to SABMiller, the world's second largest brewer with interests in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America.

In South Africa, Ogilvy's communications campaigns helped SAB's brands dominate the marketplace. And most recently, the strength of the relationship was further recognised when Ogilvy won SAB's "Supplier of the Year" award and Ogilvy chief executive officer Robyn Putter was inducted into SAB's Hall of Fame.

Making the Lion roar

The long standing relationship began in 1959, when SAB's Marketing Director Peter Savory appointed Ogilvy (then know as VZ) to handle the Lion Lager account.

At that time SAB was the second largest brewery in South Africa, and Savory's ambition was to "get beer out of the kitchen and into the living room." And he wanted it to have respectability which he thought great advertising would help it get.

"Down a Lion, Feel satisfied", and the Afrikaans gem, "Biermanskap! Leeuplesier", became synonymous with Lion Lager, which went on to become South Africa's best selling beer in 1990.

The Lion campaigns were just the beginning. Ogilvy South Africa group managing director Gary Leih says a series of memorable and much loved advertising campaigns and copy lines - spanning decades - helped meet Savory's initial brief - to broaden the appeal of beer - and to build a series of brands for SAB.

There have been a number of brands that have walked the hallways of Ogilvy each fulfilling a purpose and meeting consumer needs. They have included Ohlsson's Lager and Amstel Lager.

Amstel is South Africa's first premium beer brand brewed under license and because of its consistency of positioning and growth; it has this year topped the magical one million hectolitres sales mark.

In 2003 Ogilvy launched Miller Genuine Draft and Pilsener Urquell into the South African market, and in 2004 the agency's Cape Town office won the Hansa Pilsener account.

But it's the work the agency has done with Castle Lager and Carling Black Label that is perhaps most compelling because in each case the brand's have gone on to become leaders in the South African market.

The birth of one of the world's great brands

In 1974 Castle accounted for just 13% of the South African market and in Soweto the brand's equity had shrunk to under 2%. Savory and a creative team comprising of Max Schultze, Nick Tredoux and Jay Schulburg from Ogilvy & Mather in New York mapped out a future.

Savory suggested that in order to take the brand into the future, there was a need to understand where it came from. And so Charles Glass, the original brew master, was brought back to life, at least in the beer's communication. The market's response was almost immediate, and the association with Charles Glass persists today.

Of course, there have been a series of memorable campaigns over the years which pushed accepted social boundaries, and helped establish Castle's contemporary positioning. And there were great copy lines too: "The taste that's stood the test of time" and "Somewhat dry, somewhat bitter, never sweet" are still fondly remembered, although no longer in use. Times and consumers change over the years, and Castle and Ogilvy unveiled a new positioning for Castle in August this year.

The 360° campaign was built around the "Worldwind" television commercial, and the campaign went back to Castle's core proposition: "A beer in perfect balance to satisfy a South African thirst". Early indications are positive for the new pack and supporting campaign.

Building the next number one

Carling Black label is yet another extraordinary Ogilvy/SAB success story. In 1988 it was on the brink of being discontinued, but SAB decided to give it one last chance. In came the make over team of SAB's Tobin Prior, Rob Goetzsche, Neil Hobkirk and Ogilvy's Jono Shubitz, Rob Hill, Brian Searle-Tripp to map out a new path for Carling as the beer that offered the worker a reward at the end of his day.

This re-positioning was followed soon afterwards by the beer being judged the best-bottled lager in the world, and Carling's sales have not looked back since, and is now South Africa's top selling beer.

The future friendship

In total more than 250 South African-based professionals in the Ogilvy group work with SAB to build their brands across activation, promotion, advertising, media, public relations, CRM, brand consulting and design. In addition, Ogilvy formed the Ogilvy Africa network to support and service SAB's business in more than 40 countries across the continent.

Ogilvy's commitment to SAB was recognised recently at a glittering ceremony in Sandton, where SAB named Ogilvy as its overall Supplier of the Year, beating off more than 1000 other suppliers to the ultimate client accolade, and included the induction of Ogilvy SA CEO Robyn Putter to the SAB Hall of Fame.