#Pendorings2019: TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris's 'The Real Cost' speaks to the heart
The agency received the award for its radio campaign for The City Lodge Hotel Group – ‘The Real Cost of Being Zulu’.
Culturally-relevant and iconic work
The campaign was also awarded two Campaign Craft Gold in the Radio Crafts category, Performance and Original Music and Sound Design as well as a Campaign Gold in the Radio & Audio category, Internet & Mobile Audio Commercials.
TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris chief creative officer Peter Khoury says this is a special win for them. “We aim to create iconic work for our clients that is culturally relevant to their consumers. This is an acknowledgement to us having achieved this.”
The agency has committed to locating and involving brands into modern culture. “And these ads did just that,” he says.
“These spots have great, contemporary insights that cross cultures. They embrace the human truth about going home for the holidays,” he explains. Adding that they are beautifully written and have exceptional production values – “Thank you, Louis Enslin.”
“They feel fresh in their executional style and are a guiding light to the young writers out there who want to push their cultural insights into their work to make it distinctive.”
For him, the campaign resonates with some many people as people struggle with their identity in a global world.
Staying true to SA in a global village
“In this crazy, globalised world people are struggling to stay true to their identity and culture so people are craving for authentic, distinctive content/entertainment that speaks to the soul of who they are as a person and resonates with them in deeper and more meaningful ways,” he says.
“This kind of work resonates with people in deeper and more meaningful ways because there the nuances and insights that lose impact when they are translated into English. As Nelson Mandela said: ‘If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.’”
He explains the thinking behind the campaign is that when it comes to holidays and occasional travel, the City Lodge Group not only compete with other hotel chains and Airbnb, they compete with the homes of friends and family.
“The truth is, in tight-fisted economic times, many of us end up choosing the ‘free’ option,” he says.
But how free is it really? “Finances aside, there are some undeniable emotional and, sometimes, physical costs to staying with the people you love: looking after your ageing, haggard childhood pets and the constant, unrequited company, not to mention too much information about your parents’ sexual renaissance.
“When you weigh up the real cost of staying with family, staying at a Town Lodge hotel is better than free, actually.”
About Danette Breitenbach
Danette Breitenbach is a marketing & media editor at Bizcommunity.com. Previously she freelanced in the marketing and media sector, including for Bizcommunity. She was editor and publisher of AdVantage, the publication that served the marketing, media and advertising industry in southern Africa. She has worked extensively in print media, mainly B2B. She has a Masters in Financial Journalism from Wits.
