by MarkLives (@marklives) Is adland embracing an African narrative? Are South African advertising agencies and brands embracing an authentically African narrative and aesthetic or do they continue to imitate American and European work? What can agencies, and brands, do to shift the paradigm towards embracing a unique creative identity that speaks to our African roots? Next in our panel to tackle this question is Avatar‘s Veli Ngubane. Veli Ngubane Veli Ngubane (@TheNduna) entered the world of advertising with a passion after completing his BSocSci (law, politics, and economics) at UCT and a post-graduate marketing diploma at Red & Yellow, where he’s currently advisory board chairman....

The South African computer manufacturer Mecer recently released a new advert, celebrating three decades of producing local products.  But the ad - which features a three-letter local swearword - has not gone down well. In fact, at least one person is saying it may be the worst commercial ever released in South Africa.   The South African computer manufacturer Mecer recently released an advert celebrating thirty years of producing local products. It features a crew of singing and dancing people (presumably employees) in a factory, celebrating local manufacturing and everything South African, from the Springboks to Nelson Mandela. At one point, the lead singer raps...

Advertising is the lifehood of capitalism and, in South Africa, the majority of brands aim at black consumers. But in the latter part of 2018, there were many complaints from this demographic about the way stereotypes, gimmicks and humour were used. To get an insight on the state of advertising in the country, the Mail & Guardian spoke to black creatives about what caused the misrepresentations. Tebogo Malope prefers the title of storyteller to those of director, writer or cinematographer. Some of his most recent directing work includes music videos, such as Kwetsa’s Spirit, Nakhane’s Clairvoyant, the Telkom television campaign (with Kwetsa)...

After an extensive search, Nedbank has appointed the successful agencies selected to work on its through-the-line, sponsorship and digital marketing communication strategies, effective 2019. Award-winning brand and communication group Joe Public has retained the bank’s through-the-line account, with Levergy managing the sponsorship account and Digitas Liquorice the digital creative account. These agencies have strong to BBBEE credentials, their diversity aligns to Nedbank’s procurement strategy and they’ve proven to have the correct culture fit to meet the bank’s business objectives. “The diversity of these agencies will enable us to entrench the Nedbank narrative, expand our client reach through effective and targeted digital strategies, remaining...