When global internet phenomenon iShowSpeed recently visited Johannesburg and Soweto, millions of viewers followed his journey in real time. His visit transformed local culture into a globally shared digital experience and highlighted the growing influence of international pop culture figures on how places are seen, experienced, and remembered.
A defining highlight of the visit was his stop at the Soweto Towers, a landmark long embedded in South Africa’s cultural and visual identity. The visit was livestreamed to approximately 4.9 million viewers in South Africa at peak and amplified further across social platforms. As a result, the towers were repositioned from a local landmark into a globally visible out-of-home media moment.
This was not an isolated occurrence.
Just weeks earlier, Grammy-winning music executive Jermaine Dupri shared imagery from the Soweto Towers during his South African visit. The post introduced the landmark to his international audience in an organic and culturally resonant way. By situating the towers within the everyday life of Soweto, the imagery reinforced their symbolic power while extending their reach through a different global creative lens.
For Kena Outdoor, which owns the branding rights currently displaying Grandpa, Vaseline, and Shield artwork on the towers, these moments illustrate a clear shift in how out of home media functions in today’s landscape. Iconic sites are no longer limited to physical exposure within their immediate surroundings. They now operate at the intersection of culture, travel, digital storytelling, and global attention.
As livestream clips, social media reposts, and mainstream media coverage circulated internationally, the Soweto Towers and the brands featured on them became part of a shared global visual narrative. What was once a high-impact local advertising site evolved instantly into an internationally viewed media asset.
In today’s attention economy, outdoor advertising no longer ends at the roadside. Iconic locations now exist simultaneously in physical space and digital ecosystems, where a single cultural moment can multiply reach across continents. Sites like the Soweto Towers sit at the intersection of movement, culture, and global visibility, offering brands the rare advantage of local relevance with international exposure.
