Advertising Opinion South Africa

The Bland and the Spicy (part 3)

I had already written this column prior to seeing the Sunday Times this morning but decided to change it as I felt compelled to disagree with it. (video)

The Bland

I like the Sunday Times. It has something for everyone. However, its headlines in recent times have left much to be desired - once again this week it chose to publish a front page headline "Oscar Parties" - and in my opinion it's a non-story.

It has no significant relevance as in terms of Oscar's bail conditions he is able to go out and party with his friends. For this to be a lead story on a Sunday is clearly shocking. It is a typical example of paparazzi-style journalism for the front page.

The Madiba story on its own could have been a lead story, The Judicial Service Commission, Nkandla and many others. Instead the Sunday Times chose Oscar Parties.

Social media was abuzz with the story this morning with people questioning its significance. As he is a murder accused, is it of national importance that we are made aware of Oscar Pistorius' social life? It is a story that belongs in the inside pages of the newspaper. Not on the front page.

For the record, City Press had a photo of Oscar on the front page with the same story but had in the inside pages. It chose to lead with the meat story. Giving out Mampara awards to all and sundry is done weekly by the Sunday Times but for publishing this story as its main headline the newspaper itself has become a Mampara.

As for me, The Sunday Times has gone bland.

The Spicy

Somehow I missed this ad as I don't believe it was flighted on TV, but I did manage to catch it on social media. As usual, Nando's are rising to the challenge of telling consumers about new meals in an entertaining and in their typical style. This ad uses some dubbing and news footage to get the message across.

A typical Parliament setting gets the message across and certainly entertains. Nando's is spicy on this one (excuse the pun).

About Colin Ramparsadh

Colin Ramparsadh, the owner and CEO of Media Mutation. Colin has spent 30 years in the ad industry, working, among others, at Y&R, Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi and ZenithOptimedia. Email him at az.oc.noitatumaidem@niloc, read his blog at http://colinramparsadh.wordpress.com/ and follow @colinramparsadh on Twitter.
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