Advertising spoofs: we can all get along

...Nando's has been using parody and satire for almost 20 years so it didn't come as a surprise when the fast food chain released a spoof of [Santam's] Real McCoy [ad with Ben Kingsley]. It replicates the tone and set-up with an actor talking to the camera while Nando's meals are conspicuously changed on the bar counter.

What came as a surprise was when Santam, an insurance company nogal, bought into the joke. King James [Santam's ad agency] smashed together "Back at ya". Sitting in front of the TV, "Kingsley" says Santam was flattered it was "cribbed", but if they're to overlook the indiscretion the unnamed has to meet a list of demands. They want 62 lemon and herb half chicken and chips with coleslaw (the list goes on) to be delivered to the Johannesburg Children's Home.

This kind of playful banter is almost unheard of in the SA advertising industry, where comparative advertising is illegal and companies often cry murder to the Advertising Standards Authority if another company's ads mention or imply them.

Read the full story on www.dailymaverick.co.za.