Heritage wins with Castle and Eskort, but Spar sparks backlash

Old cameras, new stories

Probably the most popular choice in that category would be Castle Lager, which has a heritage longer than the entire population of South Africa has been alive. It’s as South African as the proverbial braavleis, rugby and sunny skies (someone please explain to the laaities what a Chevrolet was…)

Yet a sober (ha ha) and thoughtful musing on heritage, life and craft was put together by Castle and the Retroviral agency… the latter an organisation which always produced the unexpected.

In this case, the idea was to talk about sporting heritage in parallel to the beer’s brewing heritage and highlight that both are an amalgam of talent and craft.

But the way Retroviral chose to highlight that idea was unique – they procured an ancient (late 19 century) camera and used it to record images of the Springboks, the Proteas and Bafana Bafana. All of those teams have been backed by Castle for years, through thick and thin (as one of their other ads says so well).

The person behind the lens for the mammoth exercise – it took 14 months to shoot in various locations – was Vino Snap, who is described as a “ viral, photographic sensation.”

The project was an amazing opportunity for her to show that, even as technology marches relentlessly on, photography, at its best, is art – and a true artist can make magic happen with whatever tools they use.

In addition. Dennis Da Silva, one of the oldest of olds school black-and-white photographic printers – was the man who brought it all to life.

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#HeritageMonth: Castle Lager's 130 year journey captured on 1895 camera

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Tracking them was the story of the craft of brewing, as related by SA Breweries’ Newlands Brewery plant manager, Kyle Moskovitz.

The result is a fascinating blend of the old and the new, woven around the thread of craft skill… which emphasises not only the continuity of our South African sporting icons, but also of our beer icon, Castle.

Thomas Lawrence, brand director Castle Lager, reckons the documentary – because that is what is – not only reminds us as South Africans are of heritage, but Castle’s investment in that heritage.

It’s a mature statement from a household name brand and reminds us that, to coin one of its past slogans, is a “taste which has stood the test of time.”

Orchids to Castle and to Retroviral for breaking the mould while also do some fine brand promotion.

Smart, cheeky, and effective

Also jumping on the Heritage Day opportunity – but in a cheekier way – was Eskort, that producer of pork products which has been on a marketing roll of late.

It’s cheeky because it was done for minimal expense – via the “force multiplier” of clever press releases – and because it cocked a snook at the SA ad business horror of anything resembling comparative advertising.

While not naming names, Eskort produced a simple chart, ahead of customers making their meat choices for the braai extravaganza.

That showed the prices increases, in percentages, of meat products – pork, beef, lamb and chicken – over the past year. And, naturally, the Eskort hike was, by far, the lowest.

It’s simple, but it’s powerful. Food for thought, you might say.

And that will always get an Orchid from me.

Spar misses the mark

This Onion comes from the “what on Earth were they thinking?” department – and goes to Spar. Who thought it was a good idea to open your new Pet Storey shop in Boksburg and trumpet the fact that there would be live pets on sale?

That concept long since went the way of the dinosaur as caring consumers voiced their concern about the welfare of such effectively caged animals.

To its credit, Spar backed down pretty quickly as the furore erupted, explaining that “Pet Storey is intended as a specialised pet product retailer… creating a space where pets are invited to visit and share the experience with their owners”.

I have no idea what the latter means but I’m not sure I like to weave my way through a shop when there are little deposits on the floor from the visitors who either want to fight, or jump each other. And, in case you’re wondering, we do have dogs at home.

Sorry, Spar, it is worrying that no-one in your business called out this particular sad retail emperor for having not clothes… or if they did, they got ignored.

An awkward marketing look and deserving of an Onion.