Orchids and Onions: King Price’s ad is corny but convincing

I do so hope that the “woke” community do not take offence at the latest ad for King Price insurance on the grounds that it is blatant “cultural appropriation”.

I find it quite amusing and it continues in the King Price vein of producing South African humour to make their brand stand out a bit from the opposition in a highly competitive sector.

It’s not a new gag and the execution is not going to win any Oscars, but the punchline is homegrown … and will resonate with many people (other than the “woke”, that is).

We see a white man in traditional grab, apparently going through the traditional ceremonies to be admitted to the community.

Then he strides off back to the city, clutching his briefcase. Dressed in his colour wraparound cloth, he then presents himself at what looks like a company meeting.

Every body is baffled, because they are dressed in business attire. When our cultural appropriation man is asked what is going on, he says: “But you told me if I wanted to do business with you, I would have to become a Venda.”

He is shown the sign on the wall, which says “Vendor applications”.

It’s slightly corny but continues in the King Price vein of making us chuckle at ourselves as we sometimes talk past each other or misunderstand language.

The message is: it may be confusing out there, but we know what we’re doing when it comes to insurance. No prices, no hard sell, just a gentle humorous nudge. Which works, I think.

So, it gets an Orchid from me – the third one for the series.

Not bad going, King Price.

Toyota’s Spanish driver Fernando Alonso in his Toyota Hilux after rolling the bakkie during the 2020 Dakar Rally. Picture: AFP

One of the constant fears of a brand which becomes involved in an expensive sponsorship is: What happens if something goes wrong?

Perhaps your sponsored sports star plays like a wally or, worse, makes public statements which go against the very essence of your brand.

There must have been a few heart-in-the-mouth moments for Toyota when they watched one of their drivers in the Dakar Rally, former Formula One ace Fernando Alonso, grab spectacular “air” as he rocketed over a sand dune and then rolled his racing Hilux multiple times.

Alonso lost about 15 hours because of the incident and was, effectively put out of the running for podium honours, but he and his co-driver drove the Hilux away from the crash – without the windscreen, which was destroyed in the rollover.

What could have been a huge negative for Toyota was anything but.

This is because everybody who watched it would have come away with one impression: The Hilux is “tougherer” (to use the words of Toyota’s local ad agency FCB Joburg) than many others.

Years of sponsoring Hiluxes in the Dakar, along with campaigns by FCB which emphasise the “take anything on” qualities of the Hilux, are paying huge dividends in our local market, where the bakkie is the biggest-selling vehicle in our market.

Effective marketing is worth an Orchid, so Toyota and FCV Joburg collect another set.

Brendan Seery.

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