Dan Pinch, executive creative director at the King James Group, says, "We’re hoping this campaign will give South Africa its 'serial moment’. Serial catapulted podcasts from niche to mainstream consumption in the United States market. We believe The 200 Year Old could be our big podcasting moment at home." 

"We’ve brought the production values you would normally get on a movie or major documentary to an audio series, and involved some of the country’s top acting and production talent," adds Pinch.

Pinch says, "This is the most ambitious campaign I’ve personally worked on for Sanlam, with 70 pages of script and over three weeks of recording to get to almost two hours of performance, so we hope the public are as excited by the content as we are." 

Set in 2218, the podcast series tells the story of the world’s first 200-year-old. According to Sanlam, the series relied on some of the world’s foremost experts on longevity and the world of the future to formulate the script. Sanlam says the experts also feature in the podcast, giving context and credibility to Lesedi’s story.




Pinch adds, "Sanlam has become synonymous for thought-provoking campaigns like 'One Rand Man' and Uk’Shona Kwelanga, South Africa’s first WhatsApp drama series." 

Mariska Oosthuizen, head of brand at Sanlam, adds, "As WealthsmithsTM, we’re committed to building a better world for generations to come. For the last 100 years, we’ve been building financial futures and lasting legacies. And that’s what we’ll be doing for the next 100 years and longer, hopefully."

"We believe this podcast illustrates our future focussed, progressive nature as a business. And, importantly, it allows us to intelligently start interrogating a tomorrow we all need to start preparing for – especially financially," says Oosthuizen. 

Pinch concludes, "Fans of global podcasts should make it a priority to check out the South African series. And if you’re not into podcasts, now’s the time to start listening. It’s the perfect antidote to commuting blues." 

For more information, visit www.sanlam.co.za. You can also follow Sanlam on Facebook or on Twitter.