Emotional patriotic link

And, once you make a solid, emotional patriotic link with your potential customer, you’re halfway there.

Volkswagen then took over as the brand which tugged at the heartstrings, tapping into the truism that cars are so much more than machines – they’re enablers of good times and, if they’re reliable, become a trusted member of the family.

I bought a VW Jetta based on one of their iconic ads – and it was still going strong 25 years later when I sold it. Its reliability saved me having to buy a new car… a saving which helped put my kids through university.

One of the most incredible brand transformations in the car sector over the past 20 years has been that of the Ford Ranger. The original models were, well… bakkies. Competent but not stand out – and not engendering the passionate loyalty which Toyota’s Hilux did.

The last two generations of the Ranger – put together at Ford’s state-of-the-are plant in Pretoria – have turned that situation on its head. Now the manne (and the ladies) are proud to say they drive a Ranger… and hold their heads up high in company of the Toyota brigade.

Out of the roads, you see them everywhere… Ranger really has become a quintessential South African brand.

That’s what Ford is capitalising on in its latest TV ad, which expands on the idea of the “Ranger Life.”

#Orchids&Onions: Dromex tugs at the heartstrings, Sars does bad AI job

Brendan Seery  23 Jun 2025

We see a group of Ranger drivers gathering at a dusty crossroads in the back of beyond. They see one of their own, stopped with a puzzled look on his face. There’s that “can we help?’ attitude from all of them… which is also South Africa at its best.

His only problem, of course, is that he’s looking for a playlist on the Ranger’s high-end sounds system…

All kinds of Rangers arrive – with everything from rock musicians to a coffee maker to a wild animal relocation crate on the back.

The ad is about vehicles – and it captures facets of Ranger very well, from the ferocity of the “hotrod” Raptor to the carrying capacity, to the attractive interior – but it is also about what makes us South Africans who we are. We are always ready to help.

There’s an additional catchline which is also clever: “If you have a Ranger, you have a Reason'”. This is more than just a vehicle.

The feel good nature of the ad reminds me of the VW ad from all those years ago – this is a vehicle you could fall for.

It’s powerful, but at the same time subtly showcases the features of the Ranger. And it’s produced locally, which is a big thing these days, when everybody is either recycling overseas product, using stock shot videos and imagery or even letting AI do its thing.

That way blandness lies.

So well done to Ford for bucking that trend – and getting an Orchid from me.

However, I would be remiss if I did not bring to the attention of readers an ad sent to me – and done some years ago by Toyota’s Australian agency. Is the Ford ad imitation? I don’t think so because it goes beyond mere location into emotions… but you have a look and judge for yourself.

Nothing gets past Seery

While Ford deservingly gets an Orchid for its locally made Ranger ad, I am fuming at a spot I saw for Old Mutual’s iWyze insurance product.

It looked very similar to the ones running for Outsurance and – whatever else you may say about them, those ads at least feature real South Africans.

In the case of iWyze, the protagonist supposedly gets a fantastic insurance deal on his VW Polo… and is almost relieved when he gets involved in a fender bender. What first annoyed me was that in showing two cars bumping into each other, there was not so much as a scratch of visible damage. They didn’t even bother to remove a bumper and leave it lying around to simulate a crash.

Then, being a petrolhead, I looked closer. That’s not a Polo, I realised. That’s an Opel. And, on even closer inspection, I noticed the car was a left-hand-drive. So, the whole clip was a stock clip from an overseas agency.

Shame on you, iWyze and your ad agency, for not trying to shoot it locally and, even when you used some bland overseas content, you couldn’t be bothered reversing the image to make the cars look like they were right-hand-drives.

Cheap, cheap, cheap. And that’s not a bird sound… that is the sound of corner cutting damaging your brand – because if I want insurance from a company, I want honesty in all things, but especially marketing.

An Onion for you, iWyze.