Mirror flag socks are fraying in the spring weather and those canary yellow Bafana T-shirts have been relegated to the bottom drawer. And what of the vuvuzela, the ubiquitous plastic horn that caused so much ruckus during the Soccer World Cup?
The vuvuzela may have made it into the Oxford Dictionary, but you may find little use for it beyond the football stadium. As the Soccer World Cup drew to a close, organisers of a host of sporting events moved swiftly to ban the instrument. Don’t expect to hear the waspish buzz of the vuvuzela during Wimbledon or next year’s Rugby World Cup.
On the whole they’ve largely dropped from the public consciousness and chances are your vuvuzela is probably gathering dust on top of a cupboard in the spare room.
So what to do with all that plastic? That’s the question asked by Left Field, a small Cape Town-based ad agency, which launched the Wozela website and competition shortly after the World Cup ended.
The project asks people to submit their ideas about how unwanted vuvuzelas can be reused. “Let’s make this object of unity an object of utility,” says the Wozela website.
“Even though this African horn is synonymous with South Africa, most of them are actually made in China. We wanted to start an interesting initiative to keep all that plastic out of our landfills,” said Left Field copywriter Matt Blitz.
The competition ends in October when a panel of judges will select the best designs. The panel will include internationally acclaimed artist Heath Nash, who creates decorations such as light fixtures and lampshades from recycled material.
The top 50 designs will be exhibited in Cape Town and Johannesburg and the creator of the top design will win a R10 000 prize.
Thereafter, the most practical and sellable designs will be handed over to local artists and craftsmen to produce for themselves. As the website says: “They’ll get all the proceeds. You’ll get all the glory.”
A vuvuzela speaker set
There have been more than 100 submissions so far, ranging from the utilitarian Vuvu Watering Can to the ridiculous Mel Gibson Vuvu Muzzle. The Vuvu-Tinkle-Sprinkle-Protector, “For late night, lazy relief, when the loo is just one step too far away,” seems to be a hit with the guys. At least in theory.
A muzzle for foul-mouthed Mel
The nuttiness of some of the entries at least explains some of the popularity of the website. “People really like the initiative because it’s quite entertaining,” says Blitz.
They may be worth a few laughs but the nutty ones are unlikely to win any prizes. “There are two main considerations for the judges. How easy would it be to execute and turn into a useful object, and how beneficial would that object be so people would want to use it,” says Blitz. After all, the aim is for craftsmen to be able to sell their creations in shops around the world.
A vuvu-chandelier
For Blitz, the top contenders so far include a set of Vuvu chandeliers; a Vuvu Speaker, which you can plug your iPod or radio into; and the EduZula, a trolley that facilitates the sharing of stationary and art utensils.
To enter the competition, go to the Wozela website. As the man said, “Make a difference, not just a noise.”