Klipdrift’s Same Same But Klippies #BokSearch turns 23 remarkable Springbok lookalikes into a second squad, celebrating rugby culture, participation and South African identity
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What happens when South Africa’s obsession with the Springboks meets a nationwide search for uncanny lookalikes? Klipdrift has found the answer: a second Springbok squad made up not of professional rugby players, but of ordinary South Africans who happen to bear a striking resemblance to the national team.
The Same Same But Klippies #BokSearch campaign has brought together 23 Springbok doubles for an official team photograph, transforming a playful lookalike competition into a celebration of rugby culture and the South Africans who live it.
The campaign combines two familiar elements of local matchday culture – the Springboks and a Klippies & Coke – with Klipdrift challenging South Africans to find people who could pass for members of the national squad.
From lookalikes to a team
What started with individual nominations developed into a nationwide search, with South Africans identifying friends, family members and even strangers who bore an uncanny resemblance to Springbok players.
Among those selected is Antonio Munnik, a law enforcement officer from Belhar, who was nominated for his resemblance to Springbok Grant Williams.
Then there is Zwelethu Maziya, a Durban-based real estate agent whose likeness to Aphelele Fassi became such a familiar joke among his friends that they repeatedly encouraged him to enter the #BokSearch scanner.
Anthony Smit, a construction worker from Paarl, has perhaps one of the more memorable stories. His resemblance to Eben Etzebeth has resulted in encounters with members of the public convinced they had spotted the Springbok lock.
On one occasion, a woman in a biltong shop was so certain Smit was Etzebeth that she fell off her chair when he walked in. After realising her mistake, the situation somehow ended with another fall.
For Smit, however, the campaign has been less about the resemblance and more about the unexpected sense of camaraderie it created.
“Meeting the other doubles was amazing. It felt like being part of a provincial rugby team, everyone was ready to play,” he says.
Turning participation into brand culture
From a marketing perspective, #BokSearch taps into a distinctly South African behaviour: the way sport becomes a shared cultural experience extending well beyond the field.
Rugby conversations happen at braais, in workplaces, on social media, at stadiums and around television screens. The campaign gives consumers an opportunity to participate in that culture rather than simply watch it.
“Rugby has a way of bringing South Africans together, whether it’s around a screen, at the stadium, at a braai or through the friendly debates that start long before kick-off,” says Donné Wolk, marketing head of Spirits.
“With #BokSearch, we wanted to celebrate that connection in a way that felt distinctly South African. What began with people spotting remarkable resemblances became thousands of South Africans taking part and helping us build a second squad.”
The resulting 23-person team gives the campaign a physical expression of that participation, bringing together people from different backgrounds who share little beyond their resemblance to a Springbok and their enthusiasm for the experience.
Expanding the search beyond the men's team
The campaign has also broadened its scope beyond the men's national squad.
Klipdrift has loaded the Springbok Women and Springbok Sevens teams onto its Same Same scanner, allowing consumers to search for their own lookalikes across the wider Springbok family.
The move expands the campaign's connection with South African rugby while creating additional opportunities for consumers to participate.
And although the first 23 places have been filled, Klipdrift says the search is not yet over.
South Africans aged 18 and older can enter #BokSearch until the end of September 2026, with participants standing a chance of winning a framed Springbok jersey or securing a place as an official Same Same But Klippies squad member.
For Klipdrift, the campaign demonstrates how a brand can take an established sporting association and turn it into a participatory consumer experience – one where the audience does not simply support the team, but gets the chance to become part of its own version of it.
With the bench still open, South Africa's unofficial second Springbok squad could yet get bigger.
