Placed strategically on page four of the national daily, a black and white thumb print can be seen on the extreme left of the page with '10 000 arrests’ imprinted beneath it. On page five, a second thumb print appears with the tag line '10 000 thumbs up’ accompanied by the Tracker logo.

“We are immensely proud of our client’s achievements,” says Pepe Marais, executive creative director at Joe Public. “To emphasise Tracker’s achievement we felt that a whole ‘song and dance’ wasn’t necessary. The tactical but in-your-face 'Thumbs Up' campaign left an indelible mark on its own.”

According to Tracker, the milestone was achieved after a stolen vehicle was recovered in Mondeor, South of Johannesburg. The suspect was detained at the Mondeor police station.

“Reaching the 10 000 arrest milestone ranks as one of the most important and gratifying moments in our history. We are enormously grateful to the courageous members of the SAPS, with whom we have a formal partnership, as well as our own recovery crews situated all around the country,” says Alan Hutcheson, Tracker’s chief executive officer.

“Although we operate in a highly competitive industry, one of our key differentiators has always been our desire to arrest the criminals responsible for vehicle crime. It’s one thing to recover a stolen vehicle – it’s quite another to ensure that the criminal responsible is not able to strike again. This has been a key part of our philosophy ever since we opened our doors 15 years ago,” explains Hutcheson.

Since opening its doors in 1996, Tracker has recovered more than 55 000 stolen and hijacked vehicles which has led to 10 000 arrests and the shutting down of 339 crime syndicates and chop shops. Tracker currently protects almost 700 000 vehicles throughout South Africa and is the largest vehicle tracking company in the country.