Ad Feature: When great ad concepts should stay one-offs

One Hero, two Zeroes — Salvation Army, KFC and Wimpy — and a look at how Ford South Africa is supporting black rhino conservation in KwaZulu-Natal.

Shelf Life: Inaugural Architecture for Social Gain award winners

by Cheryl Hunter. Saint-Gobain recognises winning social architecture; Wimpy rolls out music playlists; and Jozi gets a taste of the Nedbank CWG selection.

Ad of the Week with Oresti Patricios – Can Breakfast Be Two-Gunsy?

by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) The line between humour and cringe can sometimes be a delicate one – and ideas that look good on the drawing-board can end up falling flat on their metaphorical faces. The Wimpy Breakfast campaign that has been created by DraftFCB is a case in point – it could have been incredibly cringeworthy, because it’s really quite silly. Yet it hits the mark.

The real star is the copy, which is bright and inventive; creating new phrases and terminology that might just make it into the mainstream. The mood of the ad is 100% South African, and the main character is a comedic talent, who plays the opposite of the guy who woke up “on the wrong side of the bed”.

Ad of the week with Oresti Patricios: Underdog love story meets So You Think You Can Dance

For many years now, Wimpy has opted for brand oriented campaigns that are highly visual with a strong feel-good factor. In these campaigns the burger people aren’t selling the bun, the patty or the sizzle, they’re selling a brand positioning that’s all about fun.

Way back in 1981 Wimpy had an absurd alien in an equally absurd UFO, coming to Earth to get a burger, only to have his UFO towed for illegal parking. Then there was that ‘free mug’ promotion that had a mug collector showing off his collection, only to have the boom microphone get stuck in the overhead fan, wreaking absolute havoc and destroying the whole collection, candid camera style. And who can forget “I love it when you talk foreign” – the spot that promoted Wimpy’s barista-style coffees? That particular TV ad achieved a massive word-of-mouth factor – at the time everyone was ‘talking foreign’ and mouthing the words: ‘Cremachino, café mocha, and macchiato.

Wimpy has a long history in South Africa. The first store was opened in 1967 in Durban, and over the years it became SA’s de facto burger joint, and a part of our national fabric. In those early days one could buy a burger, chips and coke for a mere 60c. Bought from the American mother company in the late 70s by Bakers, it was later sold to Pleasure Foods, who in turn sold the chain to Famous Brands. In 2007 Famous Brands would go on to buy the struggling UK chain of Wimpy restaurants as well.

Since then, extensive rebranding has taken place to unify the SA and UK brands. The bold red-and-white logo is complemented in the UK by ‘Mr Wimpy’ – a big-headed character in what looks like a beefeater outfit, with a red skirt, floppy red hat and medals. Somehow I don’t think we’ll be seeing him here, but then again, I don’t think Wimpy needs a mascot because its local ads are such a hit.

Wimpy, ASA tells vegetarians they shouldn’t be taken seriously

The Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa recently ruled that “There was no evidence, before the Directorate, that the use of the word vegetarian is regulated or should be used in a certain way.” Uhm, ok. This is our advertising watch dog refusing to admit that use of the word ‘vegetarian’ requires to regulation in advertising.

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