South African voters will get their first introduction to political advertisements on television this weekend.
The African National Congress (ANC) will flight a two-minute advertisement on SABC 1 at 9.30pm on Friday.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) plans to answer back with a 60-second advertisement on SABC 2 on Monday that will be flighted between 7.30pm and 8.30pm.
The advertisements on television are a result of a decision last October by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) that would allow, for the first time, political advertisements to be broadcast on television.
The ANC previewed its ad for journalists on Friday with great fanfare. The advertisement had high production values and was produced by one of the top ad agencies in South Africa, Ogilvy SA.
”We are setting a high bar for other political party’s commercials,” said ANC spokesperson Jesse Duarte.
DA spokesperson Ryan Coetzee said that his party’s ad would convey the DA’s ”vision”.
”The message is an empowering one, which makes the point to voters that they have the power to change South Africa and make the South African dream a reality,” said Coetzee.
Duarte emphatically refused to say how much the ANC’s advertisement cost and called for another question when a reporter pressed her on the issue.
”Cost is important, but the effect is much more important than that,” said Duarte.
The advertisement opens in a bucolic Eastern Cape. The viewer first sees chickens on a path, then goats, then cattle. The camera then cuts to an elderly man, James Xaba, 64, from Queenstown stepping out of a mielie field.
Speaking to the camera, Xaba tells the viewer how as a young man he had dreams, but that these ”dreams went unfulfilled” until the release of former president Nelson Mandela from prison.
The commercial then cuts to the iconic footage of Mandela being released from prison, his fist in the air and his other hand other clasping his then-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.
Xaba then goes on to list the ANC’s accomplishments which he’s grateful for: schools, clean water, houses, free electricity and medical clinics.
Finally, Xaba concludes by saying that the ANC had his vote but his vote was ”also a message that the voters are expecting more. Heed my call, Msholozi!”
The commercial then cuts to ANC president Jacob Zuma repeating the party’s campaign slogan ”Together, we can do more”. ”Msholozi” is Zuma’s clan nickname.
Duarte said the advertisements were meant to stimulate discussion among voters.
”As the ANC we see this as a valuable opportunity to broaden the engagement among South Africans on challenges that face the country,” said Duarte.
Ogilvy CEO Nunu Ntshingila said the advertisement was made for a ”broad range of South Africans” and would be flighted on several SABC channels as well as e.tv.
Ntshingila added that Ogilvy was not producing advertisements for other South African political parties.
”We did [the advertisement] because we absolutely agree with the ANC,” said Ntshingila. She also declined to say how much the advertisement cost.
The ad launched on Thursday will be the first of four. Others will take place in Gauteng, Western Cape and North West. The last of the ads will feature a young woman, aged 30 to 40, and will be about how her life has changed in the past 15 years.
Duarte said that the ideas for the advertisements came from emails, SMSs and posts that were sent to the ANC following an appeal from the party for comments from the public.
Xaba was also present at the ad’s introduction. Though not an actor, he was compensated for his participation in the advertisement. Duarte and Ntshingila declined to say how much.
Present in the audience for the launch of the ANC advert was ANC national executive committee members Jeff Radebe, Gwede Mantashe, Ayanda Dlodlo, Lindiwe Zulu, as well as Minister of Communications Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri.
The Icasa decision also guaranteed political parties with representation in Parliament a minimum amount of TV airtime. However, the allocation of this airtime has not yet been set. This means that both the ANC and DA’s flightings would be paid for by the respective parties.
ANC spokesperson Steyn Speed and the DA’s Coetzee both declined to say how much would be spent on the purchased airtime. — Sapa