OwenKessel took on the challenge and approached KOO, South Africa’s favourite brand, with the concept of an edible billboard. The campaign continues the KOO’s promise of giving back to disadvantaged communities as they urged South Africans to do the same.

The activation unfolded in the Dobsonville Shopping Mall Parking lot between 09:00 and Noon and it didn’t take long before all the 2104 cans were handed out revealing the message: KOO, helping to feed a nation. The mechanic saw members of the community lining up as volunteers positioned on a structure just below the billboard pulled the cans down from a chute-like structure and handed them out to the enthusiastic crowds. As each can was removed, another took its place until all the KOO cans were depleted.

Commenting on the on the campaign concept, Donovan Bryan, OwenKessel’s executive creative director on the project says, “At OwenKessel we believe in doing the right thing, so it made perfect sense to use our talent resources to come up with an idea that would give back to the less fortunate communities of South Africa. We presented the idea to KOO and they came on board immediately as the synergy between the concept and their brand values could not have been more perfectly aligned. I couldn’t be more proud of our team who worked on the project for over a year to make sure every element was perfect. The actual event exceeded our expectations.”

A portion of the cans donated for the billboard were matched with Tiger Brand food parcels which were donated to the existing community feeding project – The African Children Feeding Scheme (ACFS) – in Soweto, which celebrated its ten year partnership with Tiger Brands in 2013. The donated KOO cans will assist in feeding up to 30 987 children daily and will form part of the 1 238 food parcels which are distributed to families on a monthly basis.

Justin Rosenburg of Levergy, the experiential activation company who coordinated the construction of the billboard commented: “When OwenKessel briefed us about the concept, we thought, how can we best leverage off this idea and make something that could change the way South Africa looks at advertising. There was a lot of planning that went into the mechanic, from a health and safety perspective and a brand point of view. We could not have anticipated a better result, nor could we be prouder of the outcome.”

Alex Mathole, Group Executive: Corporate Affairs, Tiger Brands said, “KOO is humbled and proud to have not only made history with South Africa’s first edible billboard but the brand also made a significant statement around South Africa’s very real hunger crisis by proactively engaging with those fighting the battle of breadline status. OwenKessel provided the perfect conduit for us to kick-start KOO’s community awareness initiatives, which will see KOO helping to feed the Rainbow Nation’s less fortunate.”

OwenKessel hopes that the KOO Edible Billboard campaign will mobilise other South African brands to embrace the spirit of giving back.

So popular was the Edible Billboard that it trended on Twitter on the day. Please see the handle #Koobillboard for all posts or visit the KOO Facebook page for highlights of the day.