Louise Marsland (@Louise_Marsland)’s weekly pick of recent product, packaging and design launches:
- Native makes an Absolut statement
- Get the skinny on McCain’s new fries, and
- Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky expands marketing strategy
Native takes up Residence
The goal is to transform the Johannesburg CBD by creating meaningful change. The change agents are six multidisciplinary creative and artists who are collaborating for the month of May under Absolut’s global brand banner, Transform Today.
Absolut brand manager, Shirley Mabiletja, explains that the brand sought out collaborators with “daring spirits” [pun intended]: “The collaborating artists craft their work by changing things, breaking things, challenging conventions and recreating themselves in order to become something more.”
The resident artists are Breeze Yoko, a multimedia artist whose thought-provoking artworks transform spaces and minds; Io Makandal, co-founder of the Open Drawer projects, who reinterprets urban debris and creates new narratives with sculptural paintings; MJ Turpin, musician, artist, curator, director and founder of the Kalashnikov Gallery in Joburg; Linzi Lewis (aka Liliana Transplanter), guerrilla gardener and co-founder of Ambush eCo-Art Collective; Bogosi Sekhukhuni, a multimedia and performance artist who explores the role of art in addressing SA’s past; and then there is the numerically entitled ‘r1’, a street artist who documents change in urban environments.
The six artists are living together in a fully serviced apartment in the Maboneng Precinct in Johannesburg, immersing themselves in the environment so they can understand and appreciate the challenges at hand. They are self-organising and executing projects of their own choosing. The process is being documented online with a live-streaming blog from the creators, as well as with YouTube videos.
But is it art? Oh yes, and much more — it is social change with a conscience and a purpose. Absolutely brilliant.
Celebs launch new McCain chips
McCain has been busy, launching two new products: McCain Skinny Fries for that “home takeaway” and McCain Fry Chips.
The McCain Skinny Fries come with some fun recipes on the McCain website for the consumer to try, such as parmesan sprinkles and re-fried bean dipping sauce. Yum yum.
For McCain Fry Chips, however, Joe Public was brought in to launch the #FrydayTaste for every day. Five celebrity moms — Manaka Ranaka, Kuli Roberts, Khanyi Mbau, Penny Lebyane and Phumeza Dlwati — were challenged to see what they could cook in three minutes.
Naturally, the McCain Fry Chips came out tops as the most-appetising snack after the yummy mummies raced around trying to throw together a meal in just three minutes, creating chaos in the kitchen. The chips themselves were fried and ready within three minutes, as is claimed, putting the ‘moms’ efforts to shame. Although I’m not sure how effective I would be either, racing around a kitchen in heels that high and so much makeup — I’d be worried about melting my face or those long nail extensions.
Winning whisky
For a young whisky such as Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky, only launched in 2009, it was a great honour to be named the World’s Beast Brain Whisky at the 2013 World Whisky Awards in London.
Distribution and demand has grown, and Eliska Botha, global marketing manager, says the time was right to expand its marketing strategy and tell the story of Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky to a wider audience.
“Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky was only launched in 2009 so, at the moment, we’re focusing on meeting the demand both locally and abroad. It takes up to five years to mature Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky in casks so, although we are planning on some innovation, it will take a few more years to materialise.”
Its agency, TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris, called in Egg Films to capture the inspiration and essence behind the whisky in the brand’s first major advertising through a TV commercial.
“The television commercial has come at the right time when South Africans are realising that, as a country, we can make extraordinary award-winning whisky. We used the beauty of the Cape Mountains to share the story and inspiration behind crafting this proudly South African and 100% grain whisky, giving whisky enthusiasts a sense of the natural purity of Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky,” says Botha.
Bain’s is available nationwide at all major liquor outlets and across Africa, as well as at select whisky shops in Canada and the UK.
Shelf Life by Louise Marsland is a weekly column on MarkLives. Tweet new product, packaging and design launches to @louise_marsland or email her at louise.marsland at gmail.com. Want to sponsor Shelf Life? Contact us here.
Louise has written about the FMCG, media, marketing and advertising industry for 19 of her more-than-25-year career as a former editor of magazines AdVantage, Marketing Mix and Progressive Retailing, as well as websites Bizcommunity.com and FMCGFiles. She currently edits the weekly Wednesday Media & Marketing Page for The New Age newspaper and is the publishing editor of industry trendwatching portal, TRENDAFRiCA, for consumer insight, research and trends in Africa.
— MarkLives’ round-up of top ad and media industry news and opinion in your mailbox every three work days. Sign up here!