by DK Badenhorst. Advertising can choose to build either on the simpler, on-the-surface language or leverage a deeper understanding of trends and culture. I don’t believe that there is necessarily a right or wrong when it comes to focus. Instead of right or wrong, I tend to ask: “Does it work, or does it not work?”
Category archives: Columns
Ad of the Week: Mzansi standing together
by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) The art of photography is sometimes forgotten in this Instagram-age of automated filters and point-and-click cameras. So it’s refreshing to see projects such as ‘I See a Different You’, and it’s heartening that these young artists are being taken seriously by a brand such as Grant’s Whisky, which has stepped up to sponsor a dedicated project.
Motive: Quality assurance — more than just spelling and full stops
by Melanie Burger. We now need to consider so many variables across ad and marketing campaigns: trademarks, product and price, legalities, plagiarism and consistency. It’s not just about full stops. The. List. Is. Endless.
#Top40TVratings: 22–28 September 2014
by SAARF & MarkLives (@marklives) See who made it to the top of our National and DStv charts for the week of 22–28 September 2014! This collaboration is a weekly roundup of South Africa’s TV audience viewership, revealing the best-watched shows of the week before, where they ran and how many South Africans tuned in to watch.
Ad of the Week: The smoking gun
by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) For those who were there, Loeries was a feast of South Africa’s top creative talent. Y&R was one of the agencies that proudly announced a bumper crop of awards this year. One in particular — not a Gold winner, but a Silver in print/newspaper advertising — is courting controversy, and I’ve chosen it for my Ad of the Week.
The Ad Exec: The giant moves redefining South African adland
by Tom Fels (@thomasfels) Radical movements in three aspects of our industry are redefining the landscape, setting the scene for the next era in adland in South Africa.
Fast Company’s own Dolly the sheep
by Herman Manson (@marklives) Being the first English language edition outside the US makes the South African edition Fast Company’s own Dolly the sheep, jokes editor Robbie Stammers, who wants to tap into a younger, more innovative, business readership.
Motive: Digital mags shaking things up for marketers
by Robyn Daly (@robyndaly) As online shopping gathers momentum in South Africa, the next big opportunity for content marketing is around the corner. Here’s a toe-dipping of what the digital magazine ocean looks like.
#Top40TVratings: 15–21 September 2014
by SAARF & MarkLives (@marklives) See who made it to the top of our National and DStv charts during 15–21 September 2014! This #Top40TVratings column is a weekly roundup of South Africa’s TV audience viewership, revealing the best-watched shows of the week before, where they ran and how many South Africans tuned in to watch.
#Loeries2014: Twerking in the dark
by Herman Manson (@marklives) Loeries 2014 has come and gone, in an avalanche of John Vlismas, balloons, anorexic-looking models in impossible heels, twerking and power outages. The Iron Throne made an appearance, too, as did Helen Zille and her Rottweiler.