Says Donald Swanepoel of Cow, "We wanted to bring the new Die Son campaign, 'See everything', to life at the KKNK; make people experience first hand what the newspaper sets out to do. The tactic proved to be more than just experiential - we had people stealing the posters from day one of the festival."
9November's design arm, Daddy Buy Me A Pony, was responsible for the design of the posters, which focused on the Son's expertise in local investigative journalism, and the breaking of stories.
Charl Nel from 9November: "With Die Son it's important to note that nothing's safe and no-one is sacred. It's important to have a brand that is willing to push the boundaries - it makes our work so much more exciting."
Cow developed the idea for the coded posters and specially branded decoder Son glasses ("Son-brille" with which the wearer is able to 'see everything'. To the naked eye, they looked like normal posters, but through the special Son-glasses a hidden image appears and the 'story behind the story' is revealed.
The posters featured a topical subject: corruption and scandal in politics; the state of the nation's rugby; and the controversial outbursts of the nation's hottest rock band. A special decoding and printing technique was used on the posters and branded red reveal glasses were handed out at the festival.
Without the Son-glasses, former Deputy President Jacob Zuma, Stormers' rugby player Schalk Burger and controversial rock band Fokofpolisiekar's lead singer Francois van Coke all appear in normal patterned shirts, but when viewed through the "Son-bril",an alternative appearance is revealed.
Jacob Zuma's shirt disappears to satirically reveal his head atop a serpent's body - sharp commentary on his court case dominating the news agenda; Schalk Burger is revealed as a fairy - an obvious remark on the Stormers' recent performances on the rugby field; and Francois van Coke is seen as the Devil, complete with pitchfork, following the incident where a member of the band wrote a blasphemous comment on a fan's wallet and was lambasted for it in the South African press.
