The HuffPost articles offered reflections on life after Nelson Mandela’s release ‘evoke a mixture of contempt and sadness, as well as praise for the many great things South Africans have achieved and created’. It suggested advertising creativity was one of these things and mooted nine adverts from that era.
FCB Joburg was responsible for three – Vodacom's Yebo Gogo, Ingrams Camphor Cream's Desert/Water, and O-O-O-O-Oros – while FCB Cape Town was included for its Monkey stole my Savanna for the Distell cider brand.
FCB Africa's group CEO and group CCO, Brett Morris, says that advertising is one of the country’s success stories, creating work that often celebrates its citizens’ uniqueness, an approach that resonates with ordinary South Africans and helps to build South Africa’s favourite brands.
"Some of the ads that made it to our small screen as Apartheid crumbled and post our first democratic election were simply so provocative that they demanded viewers’ attention from the second they began – in some instances, forced us to re-evaluate who we were and how we saw the world."
"Kudos to the creators, both agencies and clients, of the brave work that had a big effect at the time – from infectious jingles to comedy icons to the re-examining and reframing our social narrative."
You can view the full list of iconic ads here.
For more information, visit www.fcb.co.za. Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook or on Twitter.