Introducing Adsman

Adsman will appear in an Ads24 advertising campaign, on a dedicated campaign page.

Adsman, the brainchild of Ads24 and Sunshinegun (Ads24’s creative partner), was inspired by a European mime artist and is the personification of the importance and relevance of news within South African communities. “The idea of a man dressed in a newspaper suit, casually being part of a group of people, symbolises all of Ads24’s titles and the connection these have with communities,” says Marise van der Lith, creative project manager at Ads24.

Adsman makes his debut appearance in an Ads24 campaign in their trade newspaper, The Beat - issue 2, Sunday Titles focus. He is seen at a Sunday braai enjoying the best of the South African lifestyle. As part of this Sunday focus Ads24 is offering a Sunday Combo Community solutions offering which  spans across Rapport, City Press, Sunday Sun, Son op Sondag, and Ilanga LangeSonto, their digital properties, mobisites and Netwerk24. This offers advertisers a variety of channels from print to digital to inserts. This ultimate Sunday media solution reaches three out of four Sunday readers countrywide with a total reach of 7.8 million unduplicated readers.

“Part of our reasoning behind the launch of our own trade newspaper, The Beat, is to distribute a showcase of creativity for the print medium. Print often gets a bad rap when it comes to creative potential and this element is therefore not maximised. Not only does the latest issue of The Beat introduce Adsman to its readers, but fascinating insights about Sunday newspapers are displayed in an interactive infographic. Red and blue film is included in the infographic through which the reader can view the infographic highlighting either the red or the blue insights which represent different market segments within Ads24 Sunday title readership demographic. At Ads24 we are always looking for new and entertaining ways to innovate and captivate readers and there is endless opportunity for our advertisers to take advantage of this highly creative medium,” says Van der Lith.

“We want to communicate in a memorable, fun and informative way to trade. Our message is that we have a special relationship with our readers and communities. We want to convince them that we can bring their brands to this same special place that we share with our communities. A type of magic is created in a scene when Adsman is completely welcome and comfortable amongst normal people,” she continues.

Adsman represents newspapers which are the conversation piece of millions, and by association so are brands that advertise in Ads24 newspapers. Adsman influences, provokes reactions, sparks debate, but above all he represents the absorbing, dynamic and reputable nature that newspapers and their online platforms provide. He lives in the hearts, minds and homes of the communities he serves.

Adsman is the popular guy, he has 37.6 million friends (total adult population of SA). He is quite the family man with 17.6 million relatives (the total Ads24 readership). Adsman is the ultimate South African citizen and he lives in the hearts and conscience of ordinary South African communities through each word and picture in a newspaper.

Van der Lith elaborates on Adman’s character, “Adsman is no one in particular, but rather, represents everyone, his personality is not important per say, his humanity is. Adsman has a quiet sophistication. He is a gentleman but does not shy away from a good conversation or a good party. He has friends amongst royalty and politicians but he mainly speaks for the people, and to the people."

“Adsman is ever present, newspaper readers might not literally see him, but he is always in the picture. He is sociable, influencing, empowering and adaptable, sometimes serious, sometimes quirky but mostly entertaining. He is the life and soul of the party.  He is tech savvy. He is an explorer. He is the thread that weaves our nation into the rich tapestry that is ‘us’. ”