Shelf Life: Downton Abbey wallpaper!

Louise Marsland’s (@Louise_Marsland) pick of new product, packaging and design launches.

LG proclaims ‘It’s all possible’ when ‘Life’s Good’; Standard Bank moves ‘design forward’; trendy Woodstock gets some Middle-Eastern flavour; you can own a ‘piece’ of Downton Abbey; and we’re still waiting to hear when Kiehl’s will open in Cape Town…

‘It’s all possible’ with LG

LGWhile emphasising that they are in no way replacing their ‘Life’s Good’ vision, LG has introduced a new tagline: ‘It’s all possible’, on some LG marketing collateral, as well as evocative new imagery.

LG South Africa GM for marketing, Thomas van der Linde, said the new “theme” has been released to “re-energise” the LG brand globally.

He said it was time for LG to rebuild the brand confidently, based on its product leadership.

“In the past there have been many different perceptions of LG among our customers. Recognising our global identity we have taken an active decision to act with one voice, and create one impression, establishing LG as a bolder and more dynamic brand in the mind of the consumer.”

The new theme is currently being rolled out globally across all customer touchpoints, including online and print advertising, instore marketing and at new product launch events, following on the official global debut on August 1 in New York Times Square with a video on its electronic billboard and website.

So while “Life’s Good” will continue to represent the LG brand vision; “It’s all possible” will talk to LG’s technical prowess.

Well, why not have two taglines when you’re one of the world’s most recognisable brands, but whether this still equates to “one voice” for the brand, time will tell.

Banking on a redesign

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERASeems as if banks are the coveted ‘new design spaces’. First ABSA, now Standard Bank have launched their new generation banking spaces.

Retail design agency, Design Partnership, asked the question whether there was still a place for a traditional bank with walk-in branches when undertaking the redesign. They believe there is – as long as your bank looks, feels and behaves more like your favourite retail store than a bank.

The new store design for Standard Bank is intended to help move the bank’s refreshed customer experience forward and reflect its commitment to innovation.

To inform its design, the Design Partnership team spent months physically working the floor, trying to understand the needs customers faced when in the bank. What they realised was that the branches comprised a series of spaces that facilitated a handful of basic activities for customers, mostly conversations.

“We tried to create an intuitive space that would enforce layout principles and drive the new customer experience,” explains Callie van der Merwe, Design Partnership CEO.

“Standard Bank has shifted its focus to be more innovative, more forward thinking, and needed a space that expressed these intentions. So we needed to distil a space and an attitude that would act as a visual anchor for this thinking while at the same time remain both a catalyst and constant reminder of the spirit of invention and innovation.”

The visual language of the makeover was vitally important, and part of the core design brief. “One of the key requirements was to create ‘conversation capital’ – a visual reference that would do the one thing that banks traditionally have never done, which is appeal to all ages, profiles and personalities.Central to this was the idea of moving the brand beyond its blue wrapper to rather demonstrate its new way of thinking. While Standard Bank has always been the blue bank and this will not change, the design called for sparing use of this trademark colour.”

All prominent Standard Bank sites will be completely overhauled in line with the new design, following which smaller sites will be revamped to feature key elements of the design. To date, Standard Bank Bedfordview, Woodlands and Alice Lane have been overhauled, with another eight strategic stores earmarked for renovation before the end of the year.

Mmm, if the banks want to be more like retail stores, they’ll have to work harder on their ROI on their products for their customers!

A new taste of the Middle East

Bedouin productThe flavours of the Middle East, with some added Cape Town spice, is what the Bedouin Café and Deli in Woodstock is all about.

Serving a range of middle-eastern inspired meals, Bedouin’s has also launched a range of traditional Middle-Eastern style products: Bedouin’s Labneh Cheese range is a low-calorie preservative-free alternative to average cream cheeses, which are available in Original, Garlic, Pepper, Mint and Chilli flavours; then there’s also a chilli jam;and the popular‘Labnewdews’ – peppadews stuffed with Bedouin’s original labneh cream cheese.

No artificial preservatives are used in any Bedouin products and all products are available in the deli and also soon on its online storewhich is still in development.

Engage Brandcraft were responsible for developing Bedouin’s corporate identity and they were inspired by the traditional Bedouin tribal culture and heritage.

The corporate identity itself was created from this conceptual approach, which was achieved through the use of a simplistic black and white colour scheme. The addition of the camel icon and the pattern seen on the product packaging is “a playful reference” to the tribe’s environment, immediately relating to the roots of the brand’s inspiration and roots.

Updating the past

Downton Old Lace Delft

If you are as much of a fan of the British historical drama, Downton Abbey, as I am, you’ll love this launch by Hertex Fabrics of their ‘Downton Abbey’ range of wall coverings offering a little bit of history with a modern take.

The collection is described as “bold statements highlighting antique plates for fine dining areas, discreet glimpses of lacy stripes for boudoirs, with sturdy washed, wooded and rustic stone finishes for halls and stairs and glamorous damasks”.

And while I don’t have the kind of home that would lend itself to wallpaper, with my boudoir fitting more into the ‘eclectic Kalk Bay creative hippie’ design genre, I do appreciate the style.

Update: Kiehl’s opens in Durban

Kiehl's Store in Edgars PavillionNew York skincare brand, Kiehl’s has opened its third store in South Africa, this time in Durban at the Pavilion Shopping Centre. It is inside Edgars with its store-in-store concept.

The first two stores are in Sandton City and Eastgate, both in Gauteng.

What I want to know is, when are they opening in Cape Town?! We may not wear as much make up down here in the Cape as it usually gets blown off, but we do still do great skincare!

Louise Marsland– 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 Marsland has written about the FMCG, media, marketing and advertising industry for 18 years of her 25 year media 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 co-founder and Publishing Editor of SA’s newly launched industry trendwatching portal, TREND. at www.trendlives.info, in partnership with MarkLives.com.

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The Switch: At a coffee shop, drinking tea

The Switch, a monthly MarkLives column by Alistair Mokoena (@AlistairMokoena) I must be one of the few people I know who doesn’t enjoy the taste of coffee but loves hanging out in coffee shops. Give me tea any day and I’m a happy man. One of my daily treats is a cup of English tea at 4 in the afternoon. For the life of me I can’t remember the moment I traded a coffee-maker for a tea-pot but I did make that switch and I haven’t looked back since. Perhaps it has something to do with my Scottish name and the fact that I studied at an English university in Grahamstown (even if many people associate that with malt and barley rather than tea leaves). But that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

I probably spend more time in coffee shops than in mainstream restaurants. More often than not the coffee shop down the road doubles as my office and meeting room. But how is it that one who doesn’t love coffee beans can love their effect? And how is it that coffee shop owners have managed to appeal to coffee lovers without alienating tea lovers and juice lovers?

It is the ambience they have perfected over time that has given coffee shops such wide appeal. I love the ambience so much that I don’t mind the strong smell of coffee. In fact, it adds to the experience. The auditory and olfactory experience come together to stimulate a gullible part of my brain that believes that the smell of coffee beans is the best part of the fragrance wheel.

Odd isn’t it? Not really. There’s method to this madness. It’s called appealing to your primary market without alienating your secondary market. We’ve all received briefs that ask us to win the hearts of a brand’s secondary market without putting off its primary market. More bluntly, please endear my brand to LSM B without pissing off LSM A. This leaves many agencies scratching their heads and wondering how on earth do they keep Petra happy without making Phumzile feel left out. Well, perhaps we can learn something from coffee shops that are a hit with non-coffee drinkers.

What keeps me going back to coffee shops? It’s the experience. It’s the sum total of a multi-sensory experience combined with the ambience, that makes the coffee shop a universally appealing hang out. From the revolving cake display, to the unpretentious menu on a country-style chalk board. From the frenetic pace of passionate baristas to the jazzy background tunes. From the orchestra of coffee-inspired conversations and believe it or not, to the smell of coffee beans.

The raison-d’etre of a coffee shop is not to sell coffee but to provide an experience that is created around conversations. This is based on a very alistair makoenasimple but powerful insight. The best time to discuss anything is over a cup of coffee. So for brands that want to appeal to LSM A without alienating LSM B, my message is don’t focus on the coffee but rather focus on the experience and the rituals that are made possible by the coffee.

If washing powder is what you are selling, focus on the passion points that delegating to an automatic washing powder allows you to enjoy and not how efficacious the detergent is. But ensure that those passion points are universally admired and not LSM specific.

And if beer is what you are selling, focus on the emotions that surround the experience and not the unique malt or the special brewing process. A depiction of camaraderie looks the same in any language. Think of the famous Budweiser “what’s up” TV ad with a bunch of guys chilling and not saying much. That’s a deep masculine connection in any language.

What women do in front of the mirror is the same in any bathroom or bedroom around the world. What kids respond favourably to is the same whether they sleep on a concrete floor on in a cot. When you are selling investment products it’s important to remember that not every retired person dreams of travelling around the world, but that all people dream of retiring debt-free, in a beautiful home, being financially independent and having the means to spoil their grandchildren. Now that’s universal.

What all these analogies have in common is their focus on creating a broadly admired experience. What they deliberately stay away from is category passport factors as well as shallow insights that have narrow consumer resonance.

Coca-Cola is a brilliant example of a brand that has managed to bring mankind together by focusing on what unites the human race. Coke’s belief is that what unites us is more important that what divides us. So instead of focusing their communication on Coke’s unique taste, they focus on the world’s shared definition of happiness. From Calcutta to Cape Town, from Mynmar to Miami, Coke is able to reflect a face of happiness that we all aspire to and identify with.

Every brand can create an ambience for consumers that cuts across different demographics and psychographics. It is ambience that accentuates brand positives and make brand negatives palatable. If a tea lover can learn to enjoy the smell of coffee without switching to coffee then brands must learn to appeal to Petra without alienating Phumzile. They just need to find a universal sweet spot (read insight) and then create an ambience that cuts across all hopes and aspirations.

Alistair Mokoena (@AlistairMokoena) is a Unilever-trained Chartered Marketer with lots of blue-chip marketing experience. He’s currently MD of Draftfcb Joburg. Mokoena contributes the monthly “The Switch” column to MarkLives.com.

Grubstreet: New-look Financial Mail

by Gill Moodie (@GrubstreetSA)  BDFM’s Financial Mail is getting a brand new look this week and Grubstreet had a sneak peek at the long overdue revamp.

Get a load of this dummy front page and compare it with an edition from August this year (below right with Zwelinzima Vavi dominating the cover) to see how different the mag looks.  The main changes include:

  • A slightly larger format and lower-grammage paper; financial mail
  • It’s back to “Financial Mail” rather than “FM” as the masthead and there are now many entry points on the front page rather than one main image;
  • Inside, it’s breezier with more white space and, therefore, more room for better use of images and graphics;
  • The font size of the copy inside has remained the same although because of the roomier design, it appears slightly bigger and easier to read; and
  • Content is largely the same but FM editor Tim Cohen pointed out to Grubstreet that although it was not the intention, it has turned out that there is slightly less space for copy.

In a chat with Cohen and  BDFM’s chief sales officer, Eben Gewers, last week as the two were on a road show taking the new design to advertisers, Gewers said the response from advertisers was positive.

Cohen, who took over the FM editorship this year, said the redesign was not about a new editor wanting a new look but was chiefly about saving money.

Previously, the magazine was printed at two different presses – at Ince for the cover and Caxton for the rest of the mag – but now all of  FM will be printed in one place: at Paarl Print.

Speaking about the new look for the cover, Cohen told Grubstreet: “In 2006, the FM was last redesigned and there was a style and ethos of magazine covers at that point, which was simplified: have one big, strong image and very graphic heavy because new graphics were coming on to the table at that point.

“So it was at that point that it was changed from Financial Mail to the “FM” red box and the style was very reminiscent of a fmwhole bunch of news magazine, principally The Economist.  A lot of magazines still hold those values sacred so what we are doing here is totally different.

“The reason why we’ve chosen this sort of look is that we want to stand out from all the monthly magazines. We don’t want to look like a newspaper. We still want to look like a magazine but we want to edge slightly newsier and for people to be conscious of the fact that this is not entirely a lean-back-and-put-your-feet-up-on-the-table kind of read once a month. There’s a news dynamic here.”

Grubstreet has paged through the dummy copy in the past week and we can say we approve.

The FM was desperately in need a fresher look as it was feeling tired and dated. The philosophy behind the design change is thoughtful and sound.

And the new-look mag is easier on the eye – better suited to a busy lifestyle as it doesn’t feel so visually dense. With the old FM, I often felt: “One day I’m going to need glasses to read this font size. ”

On the whole, the new-look mag looks sassier but it’s still smart and although I did wonder about the lower-grammage in the beginning as it feels less substantial, we must remember that it only has to live for a week – not a month.

I particularly really like the new cover – with its many different entry points and its edgier online feel.

– SA’s leading media commentator, Gill Moodie, offers intelligence on media – old and new. Reprinted from her site Grubstreet.

Media Future: The coming Wi-Fi war

by Arthur Goldstuck (@art2gee) Telkom Mobile plans to roll out 4 000 Wi-Fi hotspots across South Africa – with free access to customers. The move may well ignite a Wi-Fi war.

Telkom Mobile announced yesterday that it will offer free Wi-Fi access to all South Africans at more than 1 500 Wi-Fi hotspots for the next three months. Thereafter, it will give free Wi-Fi access to its own customers.

As important as the free Wi-Fi is the number of hotspots it intends to roll out: a total of 4 000. These are sites that are wi fialready signed up, meaning they will shortly be in operation.

That effectively doubles the number of public Wi-Fi hotspots in South Africa. Telkom Mobile’s biggest competitors for hotspot heat are WirelessG, which claims 2 000 “integrated hotspots”, and AlwaysOn, which says it has more than 1 150 hotspot locations. The cheeky upstart Skyrove says it has 600 hotspots. Add a few smaller networks with a clutch of access points each, and South Africa will have around 8 000 hotspots.

With 50% market share, Telkom Mobile fully intends using the hotspots to attract users to its services – and provide services to the hotspot hosts.

“It’s a land grab,” says Amit Maharaj, senior managing executive for Telkom Mobile. “We went out to secure hotspots as fast as possible. Once you’re entrenched with a venue, you can start doing things like landing pages for them, showing their menu, making loyalty offers, and things that can spin off from this offering.”

During a promotional period, until 15 December 2013, any member of the public will be given up to 60 minutes a day free access to all Telkom Mobile hotspots, as long as they SMS their e-mail address and the word “free” to an SMS shortcode number, 32707. The cost of the SMS is R1, which is the only charge.

Telkom Mobile pre-paid customers will be given free access based on the amount with which they top up their accounts: A R50-R99 recharge earns 2GB of data over a 7-day period; a top-up of R100 or more earns 10GB of data to be used over the next 30 days.

A test of several Telkom Mobile hotspots this week showed it delivering download speeds above 14Mbps. Maharaj says that Telkom Mobile has put an emphasis on quality access, with ADSL being used as backhaul for stand-alone venues and “mom and pop” outlets, while the three major airports and several large malls are connected by fibre.

“Maximum backhaul speeds range from 4Mbps to 10Mpbs for a mom and pop store or a Nando’s to 40Mbps in malls and airports, so theres a whole range of environments. We don’t throttle speeds. We put in high capacity access points as well, not cheap kit. All the hotspots are remotely monitored so we know when an access point is down and dispatch a technician. All the hotspots are integrated into our network; it’s not just a typical free Wi-Fi ADSL spot.”

For a Telkom Mobile subscriber, after the subscriber has connected for the first time, the hotspots take precedence over 3G, linking automatically to the hotspot when the user is in range, and saving on use of 3G bundles.

Maharaj acknowledges this is a highly strategic move.

“It allows us to give customers a lot of value for money without compromising our network for guys who are dependent on our network. And it’s really leveraging the Telkom infrastructure to the maximum, because the ADSL ports are there, fibre is there, so the incremental cost of providing the service is small.  And the value is huge.”

Telkom contract subscribers will also be given a free data allowance of up to 10GB a month, depending on how much they spend on their contracts.

WirelessG will be hard-pressed to compete with the Telkom offering, although it’s business model is a little different, often selling the service to hospitality establishments, which then provide it fee to their guests. Vodacom has a 28% share in WirelessG, but earlier this year pulled out of a deal to resell WirelessG Wi-Fi access to its own customers.

Meanwhile, WirelessG’s Internet Service Provider division, G-Connect, entered an agreement with Nashua Mobile for the latter to sell a 3GB/month Wi-Fi package for R39 a month. This was regarded as the best Wi-Fi deal on the market prior to the Telkom Mobile announcement. Ironically, G-Connect also resells Telkom ADSL services.

AlwaysOn, which has partnerships with MWEB and Internet Solution, respectively the country’s largest consumer and business ISPs, appears to be more widely accessible than WirelessG, despite claiming a lower number of hotspots.

Regardless of the numbers, though, both AlwaysOn and WirelessG are now likely to speed up their pace of customer acquisition in response to the Telkom Mobile announcement.

Before long, hotspot hunters can expect the same kind of turf war in the Wi-Fi space that has led to price wars in mobile broadband.

* Visit http://www.telkommobile.com/wifilocations to locate Telkom Mobile Wi-Fi hotspots.

* Arthur Goldstuck heads up World Wide Worx (www.worldwideworx.com) and is editor-in-chief of Gadget. He is a Consulting Editor to MarkLives and our media tech columnist. Follow him on Twitter on @art2gee. Reprinted from Gadget.

Ad of the Week with Oresti Patricios – Golden Plunger Makes a Splash

Ad of the Week with Oresti Patricios – Golden Plunger Makes a Splash

Once again, humour rises to the top of the pile for my nomination for ‘Ad of the Week’. Yellow Pages and agency 360eight have launched a new campaign with a splash, and here’s hoping for more in the same vein.

The ad tells of the rise to fame of a “rock star” of French plumbing, a character named Henri Delatissier, who, we are told, passed the French Plumbers’ Bar Exam at the age of 7, replumbed an entire wing of the Palace of Versailles at the age of 10, and received his first ‘Plongeur d’Or’ (Golden Plunger) on the eve of his 16th birthday. Henri is portrayed as a celebrity among plumbers, a demigod of piping.

It’s all wonderfully tongue-in-cheek, right down to Henri sharing a fist-punch with a Karl Lagerfeld lookalike. The voice-over sounds like it’s straight out of a youtubedocumentary, and the camerawork emulates the M-TV style:  fake TV footage intercut with moving shots, interspersed with slo-mo, hand-held camera and snappy freezes to match the rock music soundtrack. The spot was produced by Velocity, directed by Anton Visser and the creative director was Wallace Seggie, with copywriting by Marcelle du Plessis and art direction by Candice Lind. And sorry, ladies, but I can’t tell you who the actor was!

Towards the end, the voice-over intones: “Today, this ‘enfant terrible’ of Parisian plumbing dominates online search results, and at 24, is the most sought-after ‘plombier’ in all of France.”

Cut to a shot of a South African man with a gushing leak that he’s trying to stop. And here’s the punchline: “But you’re not in France, and neither is your burst pipe.”

This highlights a problem with Google and internet search in general. If you’ve ever tried to search for a local service provider, be it a plumber, bicycle repair shop or bookkeeping firm, you have no doubt come up against one of Google’s main limitations. Even if you put your suburb or town in the search box, you’re going to get a whole lot more results than you need, and most of them will not be for the business you’re looking for, but rather a whole slew of business directories. And these are often out of date, or don’t have a quick way for you to get the contact details.

The Yellow Pages was once a huge tome that came with your phone book (remember those?) but the modern internet has yellowpages-3threatened its existence. Instead of rolling over, the B2C company has fought back, with a website that is designed to give targeted results. It has two search boxes, one for the service you are looking for, and one for the area, from which you get a list of relevant results – or you can select a map to get an idea of which is closer to you. The site is simple and uncluttered, and optimised to load on the slowest connection. There is also an option for users to provide reviews of service providers. Although these still seem to be few, if it catches on it could be a good resource for helping one make an informed choice, and keeping suppliers honest.

The message of this ad is simple: Google won’t necessarily give you the results you need, but yellowpages.co.za will give you “local, reliable results”. It’s a clear message, delivered in a clever and humorous way; and a great launch for this campaign.

Ad of the Week is published on MarkLives every Wednesday. See past selections here.
Oresti Patricios is the CEO of brand and reputation analysis company Ornico.

 

Lowe + Partners apologises for ‘homophobic’ Flora ad

See Lowe + Partners criticised for ‘homophobic’ Flora ad
See Unilever calls Flora ads ‘offensive and unacceptable’

Lowe + Partners has posted an apology on its Facebook page following criticism on an ad campaign for Flora deemed flora gay adhomophobic. Flora owner Unilever had already distanced itself from the ad saying the ad ‘was not approved by anyone at Unilever and calling it ‘offensive and unacceptable’.

“We are very sorry for any unintended offence caused by the Flora ad. Please see the statement from our South African agency below:

As the Managing Director of Lowe Johannesburg I would like to unreservedly apologise for this campaign and the unintended offence it has regrettably caused.
We have requested the immediate removal of this work from all media.
Sarah Dexter, Lowe Johannesburg

 

Africa Style: Encouraging individualism sells many cans of soda

sprite

by Masingita Mazibuko  ‘Just when you think you know hip hop, it surprises you and reminds you why you fell in love with it in the first place’ is a line from one of my all-time favourite movies, Brown Sugar, from the early 2000s.

And not because of Taye Diggs, but rather it takes me back to my younger days, and the likes of Chronic and NWA by way of the influence of younger brother and friends.

It took me back to the heart and soul of hip hop. Now I was never what you would call a ‘Hip Hop Head’, but the words that were uttered by emcees and unexpected accompanying beats seems to evoke and draw me in.

What is it about hip hop? Is it a sense of pride about what it is about and who it is targeting? That sense of clarity that taps into commonalities and sharpness in being in tune with the social environment that evokes emotions?

Hip hop has managed to transverse the boundaries of origins in the US and appeal to many across the globe, without compromising its essence, evoking shared desire in many, pulling them into its world. It is through this power of focus that ensures that it never dies and continues to rear its head.

Shift to present day, and hip hop is rearing its head again in an unexpected way via a brand, Sprite. Masingita Mazibuko

Now, I may imbibe a carbonated soft drink now and again, but it is not my drink choice. However, Sprite has managed to evoke some love in me.  Its recent campaign ‘Uncontainable’ perhaps captures how it has inveigled its way into my repertoire of beverages.

I do not frequent the underground hip hop circuits; however the expression of hip hop emotionally which Sprite has chosen to connect to tickles my imagination.

The key behind my fascination is in Sprite acknowledging that many are unapologetically forthright about who they are. The statement ‘targeting the few but selling to the many’ is Sprite’s truism.

It is in this focus that one is able to land one’s intended positioning and create the necessary dialogue with its intended target. Odd as it may sound, the art of focus ensures that Sprite appeals broadly.

A tight definition of one’s target audience enables one to understand their world and the role a brand can play. Think Yorkie bar or 1st for Women, both are unrepentant about who their audience.

Focus enables spot-on insight and the real value to the brand becomes ever more apparent.  An understanding of the shared values, attitudes and needs of our audience enables us to inspire.

We often we fall into the trap of trying to be everything to everyone, thereby impeding brand positioning and compromising our brands in the long term.

Why is it important to be focused in our targeting?  It enables us to build potent brand ideas.

So how does a brand like Sprite expand its targeting of ‘uncontainable’ without compromise?  It does not – it should remain focussed. Think Red Bull, not every consumer of Red Bull builds flugtags. Nor does every Axe deodorant user a teenage boy seeking to get lucky each time they reach for the can.

It is said strategy is about choices.  So ‘Obey Your Thirst’ and the rest shall follow.

Masingita Mazibuko, marketing director at Unilever, contributes the monthly “Africa Style” column to MarkLives.com. The views expressed within this column are entirely her own.

Design Annotator: Hair Cuts, Golden Streets and Dreamers

uno de waalDesign Annotator with Uno de Waal is a  column featuring the top design work from South Africa’s biggest online creative showcase, Between 10 and 5, curated by Publisher Uno de Waal @Unodewaal.

September has finally rolled around and with that comes which is arguably without a doubt one of the busiest months on the creative calendar. Not only is it the FNB Joburg Art Fair on the 29th in Johannesburg, but the entire advertising industry flocks down to Cape Town for the annual 2013 Loerie Awards and the Pendoring Awards. This year the Loerie Awards and Creative Week Cape Town have properly paired up to offer creatives a week long, jam packed agenda. We’ll be rolling out coverage of these events (and more) during the month of September, so be sure to catch our daily updates.

Last week saw our Black & White photography exhibition, held in conjunction with Open Design Cape Town. We had a blast and would like to thank everyone who came through. Our Creative Women series has also wrapped up – have a look at the incredible body of work that Jana Hamman manages to produce on a daily/weekly/monthly basis, and then we also interview the talent behind every head-turning hair cut in Johannesburg, Candice Wyatt-Minter.

Our week would not be complete without some advertising work, and two new campaigns launched by Hansa and Woolworths caught our eye this week.

Creative Women: Candice Wyatt-Minter

Candice-Wyatt-Jessica-Hunkin13-620x459

Candice Wyatt-Minter is the woman at the heart of Wyatt Hairdressing and Barbering, and a Joburg institution all on her own. This series of Creative Women features would be incomplete without this exceptionally talented lady. Candice’s acutely refined aesthetic eye and attention to detail set her apart as an artist among hairdressers. We caught up with her again in her stunning new salon to find out what she’s been up to, which turns out to be unsurprisingly, quite a lot.

Creative Women: Jana Hamman

10and5-black-and-white-photo-exhibition

Jana Hamman is one half of the Jana+Koos team, but this is just a small fraction of who this creative lady is. Jana is deeply immersed in the creative and street culture scene that is rippling out of Joburg, and is constantly collaborating on new projects that span, cross and mix disciplines. So to say Jana is an ‘art director’ or even a ‘designer’ is a gross misrepresentation. Quite simply, Jana is a Creative.

r1 | Isaac’s Tower

 OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

A little while back we featured a selection of urban interventions by artist r1. This is his most recent project, an installation in collaboration with a man who lives on the streets which r1 calls his canvas. He let us know the story behind the piece.

Hansa | Cheers to the Dreamers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=oljFTZR8cD4

In their newest brand campaign, “Cheers to the Dreamers”, Hansa is saluting real South African success stories. In these TVCs, big, big dreamer Vuyo from Hansa’s 2009 campaign returns to meet and raise a Hansa to real-life entrepreneurs Kgomotso Pooe of Soweto Outdoor Adventures and Vusi Kunene, the owner of The Blackanese Sushi & Wine Bar.

Check out more clips from the Hansa Cheers to the Dreamers campaign.

Woolworths RE: Jeans Campaign | The Journey to V-Fest

As part of their latest campaign, the Woolworths Jeanswear brand RE: set up a competition to give four of their most stylish fans an experience they would never forget. To kick things off, RE: invited young South Africans with a love for fashion and music to show them who they are. The prize? Nothing less than the trip of a lifetime to the V-Fest music festival in London.

Read more about the Woolworths RE Campaign.

The New B&W Photography | Opening Night

10and5-black-and-white-photography-exhibition

Thanks to everybody who made it out in the bitter cold to visit The New B&W Photography exhibition last week. The group show was a Between 10and5 x This Is Film x Orms event featuring black and white film photographs by ten up and coming photographers from Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria.

Have a look at more pictures from our opening night. 

BASA Awards 2013 Winners

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BASA held their annual awards ceremony last week to celebrating projects and initiatives between the business and art worlds. The event was held at the newly renovated JHB City Hall. We really hope that this is the start of a great new rejuvenation behind the City Hall – the venue is one of the best we’ve seen in Johannesburg.

Have a look at the rest of the BASA awards winners.

 

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– Uno de Waal is a social strategist and the publisher of creative showcase 10and5.com.

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Unilever calls Flora ads ‘offensive and unacceptable’

Unilever has issued a statement distancing itself from an ad for margarine brand Flora and criticised as homophobic by various news outlets and social media users.

According to Marketing Magazine and The Drum Unilever issued the following statement (which has yet to make its way to SA it seems):”This advert was prepared by an external agency in South Africa and was not approved by anyone at Unilever. The advert is offensive and unacceptable and we have put an immediate stop to it. Unilever is proud of the support that our brands have given to LGBT people, including our recent campaign for Ben & Jerry’s on equal marriage.”

Unilever has also condemned the ad via its official Twitter profile.

Image via @Scriblit

See Lowe + Partners criticised for ‘homophobic’ Flora ad
See Unilever calls Flora ads ‘offensive and unacceptable’
See Lowe + Partners apologises for ‘homophobic’ Flora ad

Lowe + Partners criticised for ‘homophobic’ Flora ad

by Herman Manson (@marklives) Agency Lowe + Partners is having a rough couple of months. First its Cape Town agency faced international criticism for using blackface in a TV ad for client Cape Town Fish Market.

Now the Johannesburg agency faces another backlash, this time for what critics suggest is a homophobic ad for Flora margarine. The ad, on a pink background, displays the words ‘Uhh dad, I’m gay’ in the shape of a bullet, heading for a porcelain heart. The tag-line reads “You need a strong heart today”.

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Both Buzzfeed (Homophobic Ad Compares Coming Out To Being Shot In The Heart) and the Daily Mail (Margarine firm under fire for homophobic advert that compares a son coming out to a father being shot through the heart) in the UK have deemed the ad homophobic.

The Daily Mail a quotes spokesman for gay rights group Stonewall as saying ‘Many people will clearly find this advert offensive and inappropriate.

The ad is part of series that includes one that reads, again in bullet shape and heading for a heart, ‘Kama Sutra Page 48.’ Another ad that is bound to be controversial reads simply ‘President Malema.’

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Meanwhile the ‘Uhh Dad I’m gay’ ad had been removed from Adsoftheworld. It was still up on Bestadsontv.com on Monday afternoon.

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Local reaction:

 

 

More reaction on social media

 

 

 

 

 

 

See Lowe + Partners criticised for ‘homophobic’ Flora ad
See Unilever calls Flora ads ‘offensive and unacceptable’
See Lowe + Partners apologises for ‘homophobic’ Flora ad

MarkLives have requested comment from the agency and will publish it once we receive their feedback.

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