Some time ago I compiled a rather entertaining presentation about Nando's and some of the incredible work they've done in the marketing world since walking the old lady into a street pole. (See the end of this post)
Well, last week Nando's did it again, releasing the "meal for 6 campaign" featuring Bob Mugabe and some of his buddies, including PW Botha, Amin, Hussein and Guddafi.
The ad itself is hilarious, and a little controversial, which we know to be a good mix for social success. What I loved about the campaign was the fact that Nando's could probably have stood back and watched the views come in, but they still went out to handpicked bloggers around South Africa with a guy dressed as Robert Mugabe holding a Nando's USB and a meal voucher. Nando's do an incredible job of leveraging WOM in South Africa, and later today @Whatleydude should be sharing a few more thoughts on that over at 1000heads.com...so will keep you updated.
So some of you may know about the Marketing campaign Cell C launched a while back. Huge marketing spend and corporate rebranding that gained a lot of traction within the blogging community back in South Africa.
Basically, most people think it's a load of shit and that Trevor Noah, the comedian who became the new "CEO - Customer experience officer" of the company, was a bit of a tool. You can see the original ad here below:
Anyway, as the story goes, Nando's has taken quite a crack at Cell C and released this awesome spoof of Trevor Noah's original TV commercial...have a look for yourself:
The brilliant battle began with the above ad, but where it gets awesome is when Cell C responded to Nando's spoof...
According to MyBroadband, Cell C responded to Nando’s copycat campaign by sending both the Nandos CEO and Nandos Marketing Director speed sticks (their HSPA+ USB dongles with data included), adding that they hope that Nandos will launch a ‘fastest chicken’ meal in future.
A quote from Cell C's "actual" CEO, Lars P Reichelt read, “Nando’s campaign gave us a real chuckle, we love the ads and it’s great to know that our initial campaign is inspiring creativity in other companies,” commented Reichelt. “I trust that the Nando’s executives will enjoy their new super-fast internet connection and that they will consider adding 'Speedchicken' to their menu."
Brilliant...can't wait to see what Nando's has up their sleeve. I love when companies can have a laugh and show a bit of their human side...it's like watching two buddies have a go at one another, now we wait to see who gets the last laugh ;)
UPDATE:
It seems that bloggers in SA are now receiving these awesome packages with both Cell C and Nando's branding! Have they partnered up, is one taking the piss out of the other...not sure, but we'll be sure to keep an eye on @nicharry who posted the below pic earlier today:
