Tag archives: by Oresti Patricios

Ad of the week with Oresti Patricios – For Doctors’ Ears Only

This week I want to tell you about an ad that cuts straight through the clutter to reach a niche group with an elegantly simple message. And the target audience is perhaps one of the hardest, most stressed, hard-working and difficult people to reach – doctors.

As everyone knows, South Africa’s public health system is not quite what it should be. For marginalised and rural communities, access to health services is (unfortunately) hopelessly inadequate. This is desperately sad because of the government’s good intentions and the fact that this country has a very competent minister of health. But despite good intentions and excellent policies, and fair budgets being in place, this country is missing a key ingredient to assuring better health care across the country – qualified healthcare professionals.

Approximately 35% of posts in public health are vacant. While equipment and buildings are often well-equipped, because of the lack of personnel, patients are under-serviced, outpatient facilities are crowded and long waiting lists are the norm. Conditions like these often put healthcare professionals off working for the public sector, so growing human resources within the public health sector becomes a bit of a Catch-22.

South Africa’s medical schools are world class, but of the 1200 doctors that graduate each year, half emigrate at some stage in their career. 75% of qualified doctors elect to work in the private sector, and of those who choose the public sector, the vast majority prefer to work and live in urban centres. Less than 3% end up serving rural communities.

Ad of the week with Oresti Patricios – A ‘lekker’ local campaign with wings

Kulula continues its tradition of cheeky, humorous and thoroughly South African commercials, this time with a print ad that introduces the livery on the airline’s new fleet of Boeing 737-800s (and takes an indirect swipe at the national carrier).

The full colour print ad, launched on Sunday 03 March 2013 in the Sunday Times, shows a new Boeing , with livery proudly displaying the South African flag on the tail, and the bold new slogan “The Most South African Airways” on the side. Kulula has been careful not to mimic the font or the exact tail design of SAA planes, thus avoiding any potential legal trademark issues.

Known for their irreverent, comedic approach to marketing and getting their customers to chortle at the airline’s whacky in-flight announcements and edgy viral marketing, kulula.com succeeds in resonating with locals by being as South African as braaivleis, Shosholoza and vuvuzelas. The latest ad (which uses ‘South Africanisms’ like ‘super-stoked’ and ‘awesome’) which introduces the airline’s new slogan underscores Kulula’s patriotic brand positioning.

“We thought long and hard about a slogan that truly represents who we are as an airline and communicates our passion for South African travel, and this was the most fitting. We are proud of it and are sure it will be well received by our fans,” said Nadine Damen, Marketing Manager of kulula.com.

I’m not so sure it will be that well received by SAA, who are currently facing a High Court challenge from Comair (kulula.com’s parent company), against a proposed R5bn ‘bail out’ by the government. But then the green airline with the great sense of humour are not shy of controversy.

Ad of the week with Oresti Patricios – State of the Nation #brothersunite

Near the Eastern Cape in town of Gcuwa, which used to be known as Butterworth, a 110-year-old, partially-sighted woman is struggling to come to terms with a brutal attack that was perpetrated against her on the night of Saturday 09 February 2013.

Daily Dispatch reported recently that the aged grandmother was alone, sleeping in her mud home in the village of Jojweni when she was raped. “I was sleeping when the man entered my house,” said the granny. “He did not say a word. I just felt his hand reach over my left leg and he pulled me from my bed to the floor. I hit my head against the cement and I started screaming and asked him what he was doing. By then he was on top of me and he put his left hand on my mouth as he used his other hand to undress me,” the grandmother to 21 children, and great-grandmother to six more told Daily Dispatch journalist Zwanga Mukhuthu.

The attacker fled when the grandmother’s family came home. Upon finding her the family told the newspaper that the elderly woman was trembling with fear and shock. “I have lost my appetite, my heart is heavy and I constantly feel like throwing up,” the granny told Mukhuthu. “The medication from the hospital makes me sick,” she added.

The terrible story which featured in Daily Dispatch last week is no anomaly. If you follow the news closely, as I do, your heart is likely to be broken daily with stories of rape committed against our sisters, our mothers, our children; and at times even our brothers or fathers.

Ad of the week with Oresti Patricios – when the product becomes the artwork

MarkLives Ad of the Week with Oresti Patricios – when the product becomes the artwork

This week’s Ad of the Week is once again about a campaign that moves outside of the mainstream, and engages with the community, using art and social media.

For anyone growing up in SA in the past six decades, there are several brands that have come to symbolise our very ‘South African-ness’ and which are as much a part of our fabric as braaivleis, Soweto, ‘koeksusters’ or Mandela. To get a sense of what I mean, think of Springbok Radio, Marmite, Sunlight, Mrs Ball’s, Marie biscuits… and of course Chappies bubblegum.

When I was young, there was only one flavour of Chappies, and that was the juicy gum that was a sort of fruity pink. And yes, I mean pink as a flavour. You got four for a cent, and they came in a wrapper with an inspired gimmick – one that has endured for generations.

Ad of the week with Oresti Patricios – AbsolutZA

For most people there is probably one vodka brand that is top of mind: Absolut Vodka. I don’t even drink vodka, but I love this brand. It has a personality – it is fun, quirky, sometimes sexy, often outrageous. It has noticeability, talk-ability. You’ll stop and look at an Absolut ad or billboard, because you know there’s something – a hidden message, a play on words, a design trick… and the execution is always intelligent.

Absolut Vodka is produced only in Åhus, in southern Sweden. Since its launch in 1979, Absolut Vodka has achieved worldwide sales growth from 10,000 nine-litre cases (90,000 litres) to 11.0 million nine-litre cases in 2010 (99.0 millions of litres). That has made it the third or fourth best-selling refined spirit in the world.

Heck, there are even fans with fan-pages – not only on Facebook – try www.absolutad.com, or www.absolutads.com. There have been spoofs and parodies, of course, which – as we know – is the sincerest form of flattery. It also underscores the brand’s impact on pop culture.

Instead of spending fortunes on logo design, the product, with its distinctive bottle shape, is the star. We all know the familiar spotlight-design pack-shot, along with a simple, two-word headline, using ‘Absolut’ as an adjective. Print ads are carefully placed in publications that are consistent with class, quality and style. Apart from the distinctive single page ads, Absolut has also experimented with ‘Collections’ – like the Seven Sins: separate pages throughout the publication, with the distinctive bottle artfully portraying Lust, Sloth, Gluttony, Greed, Envy, Wrath and Pride, and an eighth with a halo over the bottle, labelled “Absolut Seven”.

Ad of the week with Oresti Patricios – AFCON and the spirit of Africa

MarkLives Ad of the Week with Oresti Patricios – AFCON and the spirit of Africa. The African Cup of Nations (AFCON) is on the go. In fact it is almost over. Mali faces off against Nigeria today (Wednesday 06 February 2013) at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, as does the Burkina Faso versus Ghana match which takes place at the Mbombela Stadium just outside Nelspruit, the capital of Mpumalanga. The semi-finals and finals go down this weekend on Saturday 09 February 2013 and Sunday 10 February 2013.

First up I need to declare my interests. I am a soccer lover of note and I have massive affection for Africa. Soccer is my passion but falling in love with this continent has been a matter of business, taking me from Kenya to Nigeria, from Ghana to Mozambique.

Over the past five years or more I have been travelling the continent, and let me tell you this has been a liberating, eye-opening and jaw dropping experience. I can only describe the experience as similar to blind dating, where you think you know someone from a distance and then meet them up close and experience their nuances, fragrance, wit, intelligence, culture and personality first hand.

The big problem that a lot of local brand marketers have is that they can view Africa as a country. Mighty Africa, of course, is no country but a massive land mass with very distinct and culturally disparate countries that are as different from one another as Alaska is from Australia. AFCON 2013 presented local brands with the perfect opportunity to explore this continent through soccer, a game that’s adored by so many South Africans.

Ad of the week with Oresti Patricios – Diffusing political drama with satire

The last couple of weeks have been saturated with the drama of the ANC/FNB debate, resulting in heavy and heated discourse on the issue. That’s why it was such a delight when the latest CAR Magazine advert landed in my inbox.

If there’s one thing that effectively diffuses political drama it is satire, and CAR Magazine’s parody of the FNB’s controversial campaign does this with clever copy that will give lovers of radio a reason to smile when they hear the spot. The ad opens with the dulcet tones of an accent that’s very at home in South Africa. “There will be a day…” the ad sounds with serious music playing the background that sets up the scene for an announcement of some gravitas. “… a day when every car magazine throughout this magnificent land will come with a free, full-colour poster of the McLaren MP4-12C Spider.”

“There will be a day…” the ad continues in solemn timbre, its tongue firmly in its cheek, “when CAR Magazine will give its readers an exclusive preview of BMW’s new four series, with special emphasis on the M4. That day is today, and tomorrow, and the day after, and every day until March, because you can get all of this, and much, much more in the February issue of CAR Magazine. On sale today.” The ad ends with the voice over becoming more hopeful and wistful, and the music ending on an up-beat tenor.

(Not) Ad of the Week with Oresti Patricios – Beer brands and the Great White Hype

I love the idea of craft beer. But let me unpack that statement so that it’s not just a glib say-so.

Beer is a refreshment that just about everybody loves – easy to understand. But I love the idea of craft – that time honoured tradition of ritual and the observation of sacred practice. That’s why although I wouldn’t label myself the world’s greatest beer drinker; I am passionate about craft beer because it is all about creating something that consumers can enjoy. It is the making of a beverage according to a time honoured tradition or on a small scale or using only the best ingredients.

After years of domination by the SABigboys, in the past few years the local craft beer market has really opened up. Yes we’ve always had craft beer, but for the first time restaurants, pubs and eateries are beginning to understand the complexity and brand opportunity in beer as much as there has been in wine.

Online CPD Courses Psychology Online CPD Courses Marketing analytics software Marketing analytics software for small business Business management software Business accounting software Gearbox repair company Makeup artist