The cheeky television commercial featuring the suburban miss who takes on a tougher personality when she uses her husband’s Hilux to go shopping just got cheekier with a brand new edit to highlight Toyota’s participation in the 2013 Dakar Rally.

Watch the ad here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neRg9YCyJqc&feature=youtu.be.

Created by Draftfcb Johannesburg, the new advert joins the heroine as she emerges from the shopping centre and bumps into Toyota’s Dakar rally driver, Giniel De Villiers.

Having picked up his car keys by mistake, she decides to drive the even more rugged Dakar Rally Hilux home where she – once again – dispatches her husband to the kitchen to make her a sandwich.

Draftfcb Johannesburg sister company, Hellocomputer, has put together a web site for fans to follow the Toyota team’s progress: http://dakar.toyota.co.za.

Engen’s Chemicals and Special Products division has highlighted the positive impact it has on our world in a simple yet extremely elegant activation that broke early in October this year.

A relative unknown compared to the company’s petroleum brand, Chemicals and Special Products wanted to demonstrate to other Engen employees its abilities and the role it has played in bringing innovative and effective products into South African homes and businesses.

The agency’s response was to commission Lynette Bester, a Cape Town based artist, to build a life-size room made entirely from the products Engen Chemicals and Special Products have a hand in creating.

Executive Creative Director at Draftfcb Cape Town, Mike Barnwell explained: “Because of their ability to create something out of nothing, the people at Engen’s Chemicals and Special Products division should be seen as more than just chemists and scientists.

“They are alchemists, magicians, creators and artists ... and have a hand in creating almost everything we touch every day from plastic containers to multi-surface cleaners, paints and tar roads. These products literally create the world around us.

“However, the division’s existence goes unnoticed, not only by ordinary South Africans who use these products but by other employees of the company.

“This activation demonstrates the notion that Engen Chemicals and Special Products quite literally ‘Creates the world around you’. A simple idea, beautifully brought to life by Lynette Bester.”

To maximize impact, Draftfcb Cape Town took the room created by Bester on a road show and erected it in the foyers of Engen’s offices across South Africa. The installation was supported with 3D desk drops, pull-up banners, posters and a micosite which explained how the room was created as well and offered visitors the chance to win one of 50 hampers made up of the various products the division has a hand in creating.

Engen Chemicals and Special Products Marketing Manager, Sithsaba Xhala, is exceptionally pleased with the campaign, saying it met the brief spot on.

“This campaign broke through the clutter of conventional internal communications at Engen. It effectively raised the division’s profile internally and promoted collaboration between internal divisions.”

To encourage and showcase a pioneering spirit in creativity and innovation Draftfcb and Hellocomputer are hosting a 48-hour hack-a-thon.

With prize money totalling R10 000, the hack-a-thon is open to teams of no more than 5 members. These can be active in the marketing, communications and IT industries … or not. The only prerequisite is that each team combines creative and technical skills.

Said group executive creative director, Mark Tomlinson: “Hellocomputer has from day one approached projects with a ‘do anything’ attitude, often combining simple technology and inspired creativity to produce ground-breaking results.

“This is the essence of our new hack-a-thon initiative, where we co-create freely, inspiring the greater digital community to deliver unlimited solutions with limited resources.”

At the start of the 48-hour session, the teams will be tasked with creating a prototype of their idea. This will then be presented to attendees and a panel of judges made up of technologists and creatives.

The brief at the inaugural hack-a-thon will be quite broad: to combine creativity and technology in an innovative and engaging way.

However, the ultimate aim of each event will be to hack for good. The outcome will be to develop practical and open-source solutions to affect positive change, using the skills of the creative and tech industries.

Venues will vary, but the aim is to have at least 2 hack-a-thons a year, 1 in Johannesburg and 1 in Cape Town.

Details of the first Draftfcb/HC hack-a-thon are:
• 10 and 11th of November 2012 @ Draftfcb, Pinmill Farm, 164 Katherine Avenue, Sandown, Johannesburg
• Deadline for entries 30th of October
• First prize 8K, runner-up 2K
• Enter at www.hchack.co.za

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Adding a different spin to the many ‘win a car’ promotions currently being offered by brands and retail outlets, Draftfcb Cape Town has developed a television game show to attract shoppers to the QuickShops located on Engen forecourts countrywide.

Screening weekly on eTV for 12 weeks, ‘Drive It to Win It’ will pit two lucky shoppers against each other; the shopper completing the fastest lap in a virtual Ford Figo will get to keep the car.

Draftfcb Cape Town managing partner, Nadja Srdic, said the promotion forms part of Engen Retail’s annual drive to assist the individual QuickShops to reach their targets.

“This year, the agency was briefed to deliver a campaign that not only boosted sales, but linked it to this quarter’s QuickSave Combo, a regular promotion run with the support of various QuickShop suppliers,” she said.

“The challenge was to differentiate Engen’s ‘win a car’ offer from those currently cluttering the media scene.”

Added Draftfcb Cape Town creative director, Aaron Harris: “Our solution was to partner with one of the brand’s key media partners and give away the 12 Ford Figo vehicles live on television.

“We went live on October 1 with our build-up communication, and will be running the ‘Drive It to Win It’ portion of the campaign from November 1 to January 31.

“The production company, Wishbone, did a fantastic job bringing the concept to life and we’re really confident that the campaign will deliver the results Engen Retail and QuickShop are looking for.”

To stand a chance of driving their way to a new car, customers must purchase any two participating QuickSave bundles and enter via their mobile phones while at the till. Each week, two potential winners will be drawn, and they will then compete against each other on the ‘Drive It to Win It’ simulator, live on TV. The fastest lap wins the Figo, the runner up receives a R10 000 cheque from Engen QuickShop.

The campaign comprises a 30 second television promotion spot on a national TV station (eTV), 12 three-minute gameshows each Thursday night (just before Rhythm City), in-store point-of-sale and digital support.

Olmeca Tequila has broken a Pernod Ricard social media record with assistance from leading digital agency, Hellocomputer.

The brand, owned by the global drinks business, became the first owned by Pernod Ricard to smash the 10 000 fan mark in South Africa thanks to the Steve Aoki Tour Facebook campaign devised by Hellocomputer’s social media management skills.

American electro house musician, record producer and the founder of Dim Mak records Steve Aoki will be in South Africa in December this year on an Olmeca Tequila sponsored tour.

The Facebook campaign devised by Hellocomputer makes the most of Aoki’s crazy antics, including crowd surfing in a canoe at the end of his high-energy, foot-stomping, head-banging onstage performances.

It includes information relating to the South African tour, the Cake your Mate application, a local DJ challenge and an innovative twitter campaign based on Aoki's infamous #aokijump. This gives entrants the opportunity to win tickets to the event for doing the #aokijump with a bottle of Olmeca Tequila in hand.

View elements of the campaign here:
http://www.facebook.com/OlmecaTequilaSA
http://www.facebook.com/OlmecaTequilaSA/app_195532990510444
http://www.facebook.com/OlmecaTequilaSA/app_358975134181448

Social media management is core to Hellocomputer’s full service digital offering, and plays an integral role in the agency’s clients’ online marketing efforts.

“We pride ourselves on developing sound social media content and marketing plans for our clients’ brands, and then executing these with the award-winning strategic and creative flair that Hellocomputer is renowned for,” said the agency’s managing director, David Moffatt.

“We’re thrilled with the response to the @Olmeca_SA #aokijump – it’s affirmation of our abilities, and sets an extremely high standard for us to maintain when it comes to delivering for the other Pernod Ricard brands that have come on board with us. We’re looking forward to the challenge,” he said.

In addition to Olmeca Tequila, Hellocomputer handles Red Heart Rum, The Glenlivet and Havana Club for Pernod Ricard in South Africa and Jameson Irish Whiskey, Absolut Vodka and Chivas Regal in East Africa.

It was acquired by Draftfcb South Africa earlier this year and recently walked away with 5 Loerie accolades for 4 clients in 4 different categories demonstrating its breadth of experience when it comes to the digital environment and the industries in which its clients work.

For more information visit http://www.hellocomputer.com and http://www.pernod-ricard.com.

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