by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) Don’t you love it when intelligent people apply smart thinking to innovate solutions to social problems? If you’re like me, you’ll love what the team of clever clogs at M&C Saatchi Abel have come up with to try and help Cape Town’s needy — a pop-up Street Store for the homeless!
Category archives: Watch
Smart Africa TV: The Cola Road
by Russell Southwood (@BalancingActAfr) The subjects of a new award-winning documentary (The Cola Road), in this interview the founders of Cola Life, Jane and Simon Berry, talk to Rob Mayes about how they are using Coca Cola’s distribution system to get medicines to some of the most rural parts of Africa.
Ad of the Week: Be the man you want to see (Sapeurs)
by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) Too often, one finds that creative directors try to manufacture emotion in the ads they produce. Then again, when something does come along that strikes a nerve, and cuts through the dross, it really makes me take notice. The Guinness Sapeurs spot by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO — celebrating a Congolese social phenomenon called “Sapeur” — is a case in point.
Smart Africa TV: The Internet no longer only for urban elites
by Russell Southwood (@BalancingActAfr) In this interview we talk to Indra de Lanerolle, lead researcher on the South African Network Society Survey, a user survey of African internet use. De Lanerolle also teaches television and mobile media at Wits Journalism.
Ad of the Week: Richelieu’s rollicking round up
by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) Just when you thought you’d seen all the “Best of 2013” lists and articles, here comes Richelieu with a loony parody of Katy Perry’s “Roar” that takes more than a few pot shots at the events of the past year.
Visual Sip: Peter Lord on Morph 2.0
by Tim Robinson (@burningpoint) We speak to Peter Lord, the creator of Morph and founding partner of Aardman Animation, about the new Morph series to be released online in 2014, what it means to update a 37-year-old icon for modern times and what role crowd-sourcing ideas will play in the new series.
Smart Africa TV: Social media and change in Angola
by Russell Southwood (@BalancingActAfr) In this interview, Miguel Gomes, editor of Novo Jornal, talks about the number of Internet users in Angola; the rise of smartphone use; the use of social media to campaign for access to water and electricity and for jobs for young people; and a new website that provides reviews of restaurants and places to go out to in Luanda.
YouTube Views: Three case studies in best practice
by Jerome Mouton. Today we highlight three case studies that are shining examples of best practice on YouTube. What makes these interesting is that all three campaigns decided to go the branded-entertainment route, unlike the majority of South African marketers, who simply upload TV ads.
Ad of the Week: It’s a love virus
by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) In a year that’s poised for political friction, it warmed my heart to discover Advantage Y&R’s endearing “MTC Hugs” advert for Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC), a cellular access company based in Namibia.
2013 Big Reads: The 40 best read stories of 2013
We list the 40 most trafficked stories on MarkLives in 2013.