SAA demonstrates the warmth of the African welcome

Download and view the ad (2129 KB)

Created by HerdBuoys creative director, John Smeddle, the ad features two gentlemen, one South African and one American as they wake up onboard an incoming SAA flight. The two are exchanging general pleasantries about having had a good night's sleep and so on. There is a pause in the conversation and the South African man says that he's been meaning to ask his fellow traveller whether he actually requested a window seat. The gent responds that he didn't ask to be seated by the window but the nice lady at the check-in counter told him that there's nothing quite like an African sunrise - that you've got to feel it. With this he reaches out for his glass, of water, fumbling slightly to reveal that he is in fact blind.

Comments Smeddle: "Our intention with this ad was to create something that helped to convey the totally unique generosity of the African spirit. We wanted to put across the warmth, enthusiasm and genuineness that all visitors to Africa experience that, like our African sunrise, you don't get to encounter anywhere else."

The ad was directed by Giaco Angelini from TVC and took just 10 hours to film onboard an SAA Boeing 747 which was grounded whilst the aircraft's entertainment system was being downloaded.