#Pendoring2017: Praat met... Black Khaki
Black Khaki did extremely well at this year’s Pendoring Awards, ranked as joint fourth-best agency overall with 34 points in total, and bringing home five awards for a single campaign:
They brought home silvers in both ‘television/cinema commercials (with a production budget exceeding R1m) and original Afrikaans; as well as craft certificates for ‘television, film and video crafts – cinematography’, ‘television, film and video crafts – writing’ and ‘radio communication crafts – performance,’ for Buco Hardware Buildware’s Afrikaans ‘Vat die stof, my bra’.
Here, managing director Aldri van Jaarsveld lets us in on why it’s not just important but absolutely essential to celebrate advertising in the vernacular and their client’s bravery in using ‘Flaaitaal’ for radio advertising...
Congrats again! Explain your agency’s work that won at the Pendorings.
We at Black Khaki believe what made the ‘Vat die stof, my bra’ television commercial for Buco Hardware Buildware so special was the fact that it was a culmination of great talent and a brave client across the board.
The advertisement insightfully focusses on the everyday challenges and hardships of working hard to make it in life whatever your ambit or craft. It is aimed at the normal man on the street, struggling every day to make ends meet, but doing it nonetheless and without complaining.
It serves as a true testimonial and celebration of the everyday hero and giving them their due.
But it was also very beautifully directed by Jorge Rubia, shot by Jamie Ramsay and, together with Rolling Thunder, we produced a beautiful, very sincere and real ad. We wanted to create something unique in Afrikaans. We approached Professor Hans du Plessis to write the script using Flaaitaal, a hybrid between Afrikaans, Soweto-slang and Griekwa-Afrikaans, which just raised it another notch. Flaaitaal is absolutely gorgeous to listen to, being immediately more expressive than normal Afrikaans, and ultimately more persuasive:
Added to that, we asked Churchil Naudé – a prominent Afrikaans artist – to narrate the ad, and he delivered a stellar performance. The performance and visuals required a truly South African soundtrack, so Treinspoor, scored by Riku Latti, suited it perfectly. The combination of all of these elements, working and building or crafting together, is what elevates it to not just another feel-good ad, but a uniquely South African one.
There are so many industry awards, local and global, what makes the Pendorings stand out for you?
The Pendorings are special because you have to be South African to understand and appreciate them. Be it the language, the people, the sentiments or the unique viewpoints. The competition is tough and the standards very high. It’s classical advertising, talking to people in their own language, serving the message through different channels. This might seem like the obvious answer, but it also happens to be the right answer!
Why is it important to celebrate advertising in the vernacular?
It’s not important, it’s absolutely essential. Advertising does so much more than just pushing brands. It’s a gateway to creativity. It speaks up, sets trends, holds up a mirror to society and educates. Why it’s important, is a simple matter of going into any bookstore in South Africa and trying to find any book in the vernacular. There are almost none. It’s basically English, wall-to-wall.
Advertising in the vernacular sells the idea of creativity to the young people growing up seeing it, in their own language. The message is a good one. You don’t have to be English, wear a three-piece suit, or have the old-school English tie to be creative. You can be creative in your own language. Your language demands it and the audience deserves it. Who knows where this will lead?
Who do you admire most in the industry in this regard and why?
Internationally David Droga from Droga5, they create remarkable work.
Locally, we admire any brave client that supports a bold and ballsy yet relevant idea. It’s not about those who won, or won more. It’s about all of those who try. An old Camel Trophy saying comes to mind. “Taking part is winning, winning is taking part. One life, live it.” It is absolutely fantastic to see how many young people and smaller agencies are coming through the ranks, giving a middle finger to the more established agencies and making their mark, on their own terms. We admire that.
Elaborate on the importance of celebrating creativity across all our local languages.
We’re a diverse nation. We deserve diverse attention. We have to celebrate the diversity. If we have more positive dialogues, and make real efforts to understand each other better, we will be able to build a better now and a better future for all. Pendorings in the “new jacket”, as a platform, is building bridges. Vanilla dubbed or translated advertisements will only let the real messages get lost in translation.
What are you most excited about workwise as we head towards 2018?
We are personally hoping for no more translations. We are hoping that brands see the value of supporting the crafting of local advertisements and going gaga for local. Yes, it may cost more than it would to import your vanilla, one-size-fits-all ad from overseas, but crafting an advertisement based on unique South African insights we believe is much more convincing.
With more exposure and more opportunity will come more vernacular, more entries, and better creative work. That would be truly exciting!
That sure sounds like an exciting starting point to me, sure to get tongues wagging in all local languages. Click through to the Pendoring press office or our Pendoring special section for more, and be sure to follow Black Khaki on Twitter and Facebook for their latest updates.
About Leigh Andrews
Leigh Andrews AKA the #MilkshakeQueen, is former Editor-in-Chief: Marketing & Media at Bizcommunity.com, with a passion for issues of diversity, inclusion and equality, and of course, gourmet food and drinks! She can be reached on Twitter at @Leigh_Andrews.
