It should be no surprise that a South African is the first private citizen in the world with an ambition to colonise Mars. This idea – utterly ridiculous to those who haven’t experienced the brazen ingenuity that we see every day – is the bedrock of the new Nando’s ad, exploring how life in Mzansi has given us the confidence and competence to face any challenges on this, and any another, planet.
Even Mars, with more craters than William Nicol, superstorms bigger than a KZN special and less electricity than, well, Eskom, is no trouble for the resourceful people from South Ah. Really, if we wanted to set up shop on Mars, we certainly could. This Mzansi life has been preparing us for years!
It’s the 20’s and we’ve been through the most, watching as the world pantsula’s from one crisis to another. Here in Mzansi, we’ve been dealt a stuttering economy, crippling infrastructure that leave us with either water, or power (never both), and a persistent Randemic. Unemployment, paired with the rising costs of living and crime are such well-worn headlines that they barely make the front pages anymore. Wherever you look there is a growing sense of understandable discontent – better, g*tvolness- and the rightful rumblings of regular South Africans who must increasingly shoulder the heavy load.
Sharing in triumph
We’d be forgiven for shrugging our shoulders, rolling our eyes, and simply giving up in the face of the seemingly unfixable nature of it all. Sometimes, it feels like we’ve made a national sport of throwing hands and saying ‘ts*k to the relentless k*k days, played out on Twitter feeds with highlights on your local community WhatsApp group. But. That isn’t us. We don’t give up.
We make a plan, always. We’ve enjoyed many moments of history defining courage, and we’ve shared and celebrated the triumphs, discoveries and ingenuities that have put us on the map, solved a real problem or just overcome a daily nuisance.
Nando’s, reminds us of this in their new TVC. And implores us to listen to the small voice in our heads that’s begging us to recognise the Mzansi-bred creativity that has seen us through many a crisis before. We’re good at it because we’ve had more practice than most. Even amid all the challenges, we can face them and fix them, without taking ourselves too seriously.
Power is within
The ad features both current-day and warmly nostalgic South Africanisms that have served us well here on Earth – from the pothole brigade, to street surfers, the dulcet suburban soprano cry of “Mielies” and the unmistakable melody of an ice cream truck dishing out both sunshine and summertime treats.
These lekker local ideas, when used to solve the anticipated challenges on Mars, remind us of what we are capable of. “If there's one thing we've learned by being a South African brand that has grown up alongside our South African democracy, is that even when we feel we have little power in the face of unimaginable adversity, we are never powerless,” says Nontobeko Sibiya, marketing manager: communications at Nando’s. “Our power doesn’t come from our leaders, but from ourselves. It has always been this way, and when the chips are down, it’s even more important that we remember it.”
With a final rallying cry to Amandla Awethu, Again, Nando’s reminds us to recognise and embrace our power once again. And if we can make it on Mars, imagine what kind of a Quantum Leap we can fire up here at home. Everyone is invited
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