Much has been said and written about the state of the South African advertising industry since the 1994 democratic elections. South Africa was welcomed back into the international community and, in return, seemed only too happy to add our kraals and Cape Dutch homesteads to the global village.
The local ad industry feasted on the arrival and return of multinational brands and companies. After all, who better than the advertising fraternity to assist these global businesses in their quest to fill the sanctions-induced global brand vacuum that existed in South Africa at the time?
And soon, while hamburger-hungry South Africans were gathering to queue outside new McDonald’s restaurants, the ad industry was getting its first real taste of global brands, strategy and creative direction. But the latter quickly fell out of favour with creatives, who unexpectedly found themselves being appointed to implement and extend creative executions rather than originate them.
Predictably, the advertising industry has responded with a dismissive attitude to any creative campaign that’s not developed locally.
And it’s easy to understand why. Originality is regarded as the cornerstone of any piece of good creative — and is de rigueur when it comes to awards.
Add to this the usual (or useful) arguments about local knowledge, customs, cultures, languages and diverse demographics, which all hold water, and you’d be forgiven for not wondering why some of South Africa’s most liked ads have been given the cold shoulder by local advertising commentators and awards judges.
The truth of the matter is that South African ad agencies are often overly hasty in dismissing overseas creative campaigns as being entirely unsuitable for local audiences.
Not surprisingly, one seldom hears them levelling the same criticism at blockbuster movies from Hollywood (or even Bollywood), not to mention overseas music artists or popular TV shows. Consumers are not predisposed to these vested creative interests and are more than happy to identify with any piece of communication that succeeds in engaging them in a manner that they find relevant, appealing, entertaining and complementary to their images and lifestyles.
Good creative often has a global passport and the latest Bacardi Breezer ”Vet” ad is a perfect example.
There’s little doubt that the delightful dancing cat will be as successful and popular as the previous ads in the ”Tomcat” series, which, incidentally, were found to be among ”the most liked” ads ever shown on South African television. That’s according to Millward Brown Impact, who monitor and measure audience response to TV advertisements.
And ”Tomcat” is not alone. Red Bull, Peugeot, Jack Daniels, Smirnoff, LG, Samsung, Nokia and any number of international fragrance, cosmetics and appliance ads have all used imported creative as the basis of their various local campaigns.
Perhaps the future challenge for South African ad agencies, or at least those wishing to handle international brand accounts, is for them to acknowledge a potential shift away from the traditional areas of emphasis in favour of more flexible structures better suited to meeting the needs of global brands — be they above, below or through-the-line advertising, media, promotional, experiential or consumer interactive.
By ”extending” the line, rather than simply trying to go further above or below it, an agency will be better prepared to meet the varying needs of international brand partners and will take a competitive edge against larger traditional agencies boasting more departments.
Globalisation, whichever way you view it, is not simply a trend in international business, and companies are focusing on the implementation of consistent corporate imagery and brand identity around the world.
Clients may no longer be looking for ”more of the same” from their ad agencies, but when it comes down to their own global brand identity, they’re demanding it.
Perhaps local agencies need to recognise that while South Africa may indeed be part of the global village, it is unfortunately viewed by most First World countries and corporations as being very much on the ”emerging” outskirts of it.
South African creative work continues to excel and win international awards, but sooner or later the traditional agencies may find themselves unable to add any value to a global brand client with access to ready-made overseas creative and an ad agency brief that reads, ”just add media”.
Dave Lehr is founding partner and client service director of CLM Advertising