Santam "Back at ya"
Taken from Shots 25/04/12
“When King James Group’s group chief creative Alistair King caught wind of the (Nandos spoof of the Sir Ben Santam )clip, he was surprisingly supportive of the whole thing, having been familiar with Black River’s previous Nando’s work. The agency recently won Ad of the Year for its controversial, yet successful, Last Dictator Standing commercial and is behind the Santam spoof.
“They tend to generate a lot of publicity on the Nando’s brand. Their work is often quite tactical, but no one ever spoofs their spoofs,” he says, hinting at his genius response. “The spoof wasn’t really something that we or the client (Santam) were upset about. If anything, it’s a compliment and we found it quite funny. So we didn’t feel compelled to respond in any way, publicly or legally, unless it was in a way that is elegant and dignified.”
The result is Santam’s Back at Ya and calls Nando’s out in the same style as the first two but does it with an underlying good cause, just as King suggests. In the video, Santam challenges Nando’s to deliver a large order of food to The Johannesburg Children’s Home by 4pm on Thursday and the smart response was shot by director Chloe Coetsee of Fringe @ Bouffant, who turned the new film around in just two and a half days.
The idea came to us immediately,” reveals King, “but it took two days to find out if the client was keen to respond. When I heard they were, I pitched the idea over the phone and they loved it immediately. Within four days the ad was shot and ready to release, so respect to Bouffant who pulled it together so elegantly. They shot the original Santam campaign, too.”
So with the challenge laid down does King think there’ll be more spoofing of spoofs and clever comebacks? “We’ll see,” he says, “The right thing to do would be to feed the children, but I guess the ball’s in their court. They make chicken, we provide insurance. There’s no real reason for us to exchange marketing blows, and if anything we’ve given them more publicity. Hell, we read out their menu for them – they should be thrilled.”
For anyone wondering Nandos overdelivered a day early to the children’s home!
Nandos "The Last Dictator"
Nandos “Dictator” wins Ad of the Year. This is Bouffant’s third Ad of the Year in the four years of being in business and it is Dean’s second Ad of the Year win. Nandos is also a One Show finalist. And Dean’s Santam campaign is a finalist at Clios.
Latest Work
Bouffant has won Creative Circle’s Ad of the Year for the third time in its four years of being in business. Dean Blumberg’s Nandos “ The Last Dictator Standing” for agency Black River Football Club won Ad of the Year. This is Dean’s second Ad of the Year win. Erik Van Wyk’s KFC “ So Good” for Ogilvy Johannesburg is also featured in this year’s top three. According to Melina McDonald and Lorraine Smit, “ In the beginning we thought it was just luck. But the more we shoot, the luckier we get! Thanks to our clients and directors that make us look good.”
Chloe of Fringe directs this piece for Capsule Projects’ Rock Me Again, a project focusing on sustainable fashion featuring designs by Clive Rundle, Suzaan Heyns and Lara Klawikowski.
And featuring Bouffant director lady of many talents, Jeana Theron.
Bouffant Dines with Dictators for Nando’s
They say you should keep your friends close and your enemies closer, but South African agency Black River FC has taken the idea to a new extreme with a controversial but comical new campaign for chicken chain Nando’s.
The TV ad, which broke on Friday and has since gone viral, features some of the world’s most renowned dictators including Robert Mugabi, who reminisces about bygone days frolicking with Saddam Hussein and Gaddafi. The leaders light heartedly fool around to a fun soundtrack before Mugabi sits at his dinner table with a message that suggests no one should have to eat alone at this time of year. The commercial was intended to be an equal mix of comedy and controversy:
“This is always a difficult balance to strike,” says Bouffant director Dean Blumberg. “But we were blessed with scenarios that had scandalous innuendo. The tricky bit was to fine tune a tone for the sense of humour as well as the performances, which wouldn’t water down the impact but retain the irreverent comedy.”
The director praises the client for its bravery and willingness to take a risk and he seized the chance to let his creativity shine on the job.
“The treatment for the commercial was obviously to deliver on the humour but I saw an opportunity to really affect people and my approach centred on bringing as much politically relevant satire to each scene while humanising the bookend dinner moments so that the commercial created mixed emotions.”
He says the client’s request for ‘smart humour’ went in hand with his careful vision and they got to work on creating the unique take on the dictators.
“We were hell bent on not spoofing the individuals and had to constantly manage the level of parody for not only the scenes but also the montage’s film language,” says Blumberg. “Where appropriate we added relevant nuances to each performance while the production team at Bouffant worked a miracle in six days. Together with art department and wardrobe we worked tirelessly to create iconic specifics that reinforced the scenarios with comedic touches that not only added entertainment but significant idiosyncrasies.”
Apparently the ideas just kept flowing with the production team completing the job in a ridiculously short time frame. Now it’s out there, though, Blumberg adds that the reactions the commercial has sparked have been exactly as intended with “laughter, debate, anger and praise” all featuring. He adds: “There has been an incredible viral response beyond the television flighting and the commercial has exploded beyond South African borders in less than two days.”
Bouffant/Fringe is ranked 17 in the Palme d’Or rankings. The Palme d’Or is an honour that recognises the twenty most awarded production companies worldwide at Cannes Lions. According to Lorraine Smit and Melina McDonald joint Executive Producers of Bouffant, “ Its been a whirlwind three years, we are so proud of our directors and look forward to “Bouffanting” many more scripts that come our way.”
Bouffant is thrilled to announce that in their third year of business they are third on the Top Production company rankings in South Africa after winning seven Loeries including a Craft gold, two silvers and four bronzes. This is after having the most South African Shortlists (nine in total) and securing a Bronze at Cannes this year. The list of wins incorporates their new division Fringe.
“I would definitely rank Bouffant among the top leading production companies in the world. They are top notch, and have a very high A-list standard of working. They know their stuff and they do it well. Besides this, they are also very creatively driven which is very important to us at Wieden + Kennedy.”
Erik-Jan Verheijen
Senior Agency Producer, Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam
Oscar winner Sir Ben Kingsley features in the new commercial for Santam directed by Dean Blumberg of Bouffant. Dean has delivered a sophisticated and intellectual concept in his inimitable way with precise, simple storytelling, a subtle but commanding performance, and his trademark visual appeal, resulting in an ad that draws the viewer in and through careful nuance offers repeat watchability. According to the director, “As a team we stuck to a precise translation of the ideas, no extraneous bells and whistles. I wanted beauty, simplicity and a gravity led by our star.” Dean describes Sir Ben as: “The most consummate professional,deeply committed to the process” – an approach much like the young director’s, which is probably why Dean and Sir Ben struck up an immediate rapport whilst filming the ad.
Commercials Director Dean Blumberg of Bouffant was recently one of a handful of directors from around the world selected to showcase their work at the Boards Summit in New York.
The showcase was part of the BBDO Directors Lounge, which has gained a reputation for showcasing innovative and contemporary work from young directors. Only five directors were selected globally for what is considered a “Directors to watch” showcase. Chosen for his cinematic storytelling and subtle comedy, Blumberg had been on their radar after his work was featured at international awards shows such as Cannes and Clios.
Bouffant’s new division Fringe is racking up awards faster than you can say five months which is about the time that Fringe has been in existence.
Fringe has won a gold and bronze at the Loerie awards. Fringe director Chloe Coetsee directed the award winning Apartheid Museum campaign for TBWA Hunt Lascaris that won a bronze and John Trengove won a gold craft for direction for Absa L’Atelier with The Jupiter Drawing Room in the Experiential category. Trengove’s mini series “Hopeville” has also been awarded the Rose D’Or for best drama and mini series and also has an Emmy nominee. The Rose D’or Awards are based in Lucerne, Switzerland.
According to Lorraine and Melina,“John winning a gold for direction in the Experiential category is exactly the point of Fringe, alternative creative people with a different production approach, having fun in the Playroom of Bouffant!”
PALME d’Or
2010 – Bouffant Ranked in the Palme d’Or top 20 Production Companies
CANNES LIONS
2011 – FRINGE’s Chloe Coetsee – Bronze Lion – Avril Elizabeth ‘ Jumbled’
2010 – Dean Blumberg – Bronze Lion – First For Women ‘So Backwards’
2010 – FRINGE’s Chloe Coetsee – Apartheid Museum ‘History Forgotten’, Cannes Finalist
2006 – Dean Blumberg – Finalist – Netstar ‘Yeti’
GUNN REPORT
2007 – 100 Most awarded Commercials First for Women ‘ So Backwards’
ONE SHOW
2011 – Dean Blumberg – Finalist – First For Women ‘So Backwards’
2010 – Dean Blumberg – One Show Merit – Drive Alive campaign
NEW YORK FESTIVAL AWARDS
2011 – Dean Blumberg – Bronze- First For Women ‘So Backwards’
EPICA
2010 – Dean Blumberg – First For Women ‘So Backwards’
LONDON INTERNATIONAL AWARDS
2011 – Erik Van Wyk – Finalist – Cadbury’s ‘Monks’
2010 – Dean Blumberg – Finalist – First For Women ‘So Backwards’
LOERIES
2011 – Dean Blumberg – Silver – Santam ‘Real McCoy’
2011 – Jeana Theron – Bronze – Fashion Week ‘Suzaan Heyns’
2011 – FRINGE’s Chloe Coetsee – Bronze – Avril Elizabeth ‘Jumbled’
2010 – Ranked number three Production Company in South Africa
2010 – Dean Blumberg – Campaign Silver – Drive Alive – ‘Richard, Tracey, Martin & Gary’
2010 – Erik van Wyk – Campaign Silver – Medal Paints ‘Cat, Knickers & Karate Belt’
2010 – Dean Blumberg – Bronze – First For Women ‘So Backwards’
2010 – Dean Blumberg – Toyota ‘Buddy’ – Campaign Silver
2010 – Erik Van Wyk – Campaign Bronze – Medal Paints – ‘The Right Colour Matters’
2010 – FRINGE’s John Trengove – Experiential: Craft Gold Direction – ABSA L’Atelier ‘Koos’
2010 – FRINGE’s Chloe Coetsee – Campaign Bronze – Apartheid Museum
2010 – FRINGE’s Chloe Coetsee – Apartheid Museum ‘History Forgotten’, Bronze Loerie
CREATIVE CIRCLE AD OF THE YEAR
2011 – Ad of the Year – Nandos ‘Dictator’ Directed by Dean Blumberg
2007 – Ad of the Year – Ford ‘Ubuntu’ Directed by Dean Blumberg
CFP – SHOTS YOUNG DIRECTOR’S AWARD, CANNES
2006 – Jeana Theron – Project Literacy ‘ Mandla’ finalist
2007 – Dean Blumberg won for First for Women ‘Taking the Piss’