In the opening scene of the latest Three Ships Whisky TV advert viewers are teased with a glimpse of a Beechcraft BE 18 of 1959.
Throughout the advert this vintage plane becomes one of the stars, transporting the three explorers on their travels through Africa, but what viewers might not know is that this aircraft calls Rand Airport, in Germiston, home.
The GCN visited Springbok Classic Air, owners of the aircraft, to find out how the plane was chosen to be featured in the advert.
Ronéll Myburgh, personal assistant to the CEO, Capt Flippie Vermeulen, of Springbok Classic Air, explained that Fresh Eye Productions first approached the company when they found its DC-3 online.
A team travelled to Rand Airport to view the DC-3, and the BE 18 caught their eye.
They decided that this aircraft would fit in better with the brief for the advert supplied to them.
In its day, the BE 18 was the equal of today’s Learjet.
The aircraft was brought to South Africa in 1994, and had its first taste of Hollywood stardom when it was featured in the 2008 movie based on the life of Amelia Earhart, titled ”Amelia”.
The movie starred Hilary Swank and Richard Gere.
Advert director Greg Francois explained his choice of aircraft: “The aircraft we chose for this commercial forms an essential thread, leading us through the storyline and linking the African experience.
“For this reason we chose a pioneering aircraft in its own right, the Beechcraft 18.
“As modern air travel has shrunk the world we live in, I, as a filmmaker, needed a unique visual device to capture the exotic drama and romance of the great explorers we remember, but within a modern context.
“At the same time I was looking for a unique language that would describe and reflect the values of Three Ships Whisky.
“So, to resurrect the glory days of flight, I chose a beautifully restored aircraft, built more than 60 years ago, in which our explorers could cross the ‘Dark continent’.”
The advert, which first aired on South African TV on March 18, was shot at Rand Airport and Freeway Airfield, in Pretoria, between November 2014 and January, this year, with Captains Brian Stableford and Flippie Vermeulen, of Springbok Classic Air, piloting the aircraft during the shoot.
“The latest TV campaign for Three Ships Whisky celebrates the brand’s pioneering spirit in the form of a group of intrepid Irish aviators who, in search of the best, embark on an incredible journey of discovery through Africa.
“Remarkably, they discover that the best-blended whisky in the world does not come from Ireland (the Irish are credited with being the first producers of whiskey and not the Scots) but rather from Wellington, in the Cape,” Francois explained when asked about the advert.
The advert will continued to be aired on DSTV, SABC and eTV, as well as in movie theatres.
