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FCB gets fresh with Parmalat

FCB Cape Town has developed a fresh creative proposition for client Parmalat that has tickled South African funny bones and seems set to find its way onto their list of 'favourite ads'.

The brief put to the agency was to develop a campaign that would increase the size of the UHT (ultra-pasteurised) category while also building the Parmalat EverFresh brand, itself already 15 years old. Bearing this in mind, the agency's crack team of creative director Francois de Villiers, art director Schalk van der Merwe and copywriter Sasha Sanders developed a concept that, in more ways than one, has 'legs'.

"Talking around the brief, we pondered the fact that the freshest milk comes, of course, directly from the cow," explain Van de Merwe and Sanders.

"But, for most people, it's just not convenient to keep a cow around the house. The next best thing is EverFresh and this led us to a creative proposition that is both obvious and unexpected. When only the freshest milk will do – but you don't have space for a cow – use EverFresh. This is as direct as it is entertaining and illustrates the benefits of EverFresh simply and humourously."

It is also, industry watchers will agree, just the approach that South Africans have come to expect from De Villiers, who is regarded as the father of the now iconic 'Yebo GoGo' campaign for Vodacom as well as the off-the-wall 'sheep' series of commercials for radiosondergrense.

De Villiers describes the executions: "In EverFresh 'Tea Trolley', three old dears are sitting in a lounge waiting in anticipation of a cup of tea and a bit of a gossip. From the adjoining room we hear squeaking wheels and then see a tea trolley with a teapot and cups on the lower tray, although we cannot actually see the tea trolley itself. When the guests respond to the host's question 'Do you all take milk?', the camera pulls out and we see the trolley for the first time. Sitting on top of it, and spread out over its sides, is a cow, nonchalant and relaxed as the voice over states 'When only the freshest milk will do, but you don't have space for a cow ... EverFresh. Ultra-pasteurised so it starts fresh, sealed so it stays fresh'. The add closes with Parmalat logo and payoff line 'Parmalat nourishes life.

"In the Afrikaans version, the commercial shows a father and daughter in the kitchen having breakfast. When he asks her to pass the milk, she sighs, grips the Lazy Susan with both hands and uses all of her 6-year-old might to push it clockwise slowly toward the father. The camera pulls out to see the whole breakfast table for the first time. Right in the centre of it, sitting on the Lazy Susan, is a beautiful, big cow, completely relaxed and nonplussed. And the voice over begins 'As net die varste melk goed genoeg is, maar jy het nie plek vir 'n koei nie ..."

"The third in the series opens on a guy in his 20s carrying a backpack and hiking up a very steep hill, somewhere along a beautiful nature trail. Tired and out of breath, he half looks behind him to say he's looking forward to coffee when they reach the top. The camera pulls out a little to see a second hiker, also struggling up the hill with a backpack, who calls down to the third hiker 'And to think we nearly left the milk behind, hey Steve?'. After a long pause we eventually see Steve, struggling particularly hard and taking particularly small steps, due to the fact that he is carrying not a backpack, but a cow. Again, 'When only the freshest milk will do, but you don't have space for a cow ...."

The commercials were shot by Giant Films over four days at a variety of locations including the mountains of Grabouw and a house in Tamboerskloof. And, says De Villiers, the job wasn't excessively demanding.

"The team and I loved working on this campaign, it was just such fun. Although I must admit we had quite a time casting for the cow. We really searched to find one that was comfortable in a variety of positions, liked being around people, and didn't want to charge astronomical performance fees," he quips.

The radio campaign, which features some six different ads, builds on the creative proposition. In one execution, listeners hear two campers packing for their trip with one calling out the supplies they're supposed to take with them. When he reads 'cow' off his list, the other camper confidently replies 'check'. Another execution features a young man with a very laid back Capetonian accent enquiring in a pet shop if there's a cow he can buy and take home with him. He seems to think keeping a cow in his flat is quite the thing to do if he wants fresh milk whereas the assistant really believes he should rather use EverFresh. All the ads feature the phrase 'When only the freshest milk will do, but you don't have space for a cow ...."

According to Parmalat group marketing manager David Green, he and the commecial manager on drinks, Mark von Bontheim, are particularly proud of the campaign not just because of its humour and simplicity but because it meets the brief so well.

"FCB Cape Town has truly embraced Parmalat as a marketing partner and worked really hard to develop a concept that suited the brand while being responsible to the category. We are inspired by the campaign and look forward to seeing it develop over the next 12 months," Green says.

Client service director, Nadja Srdic, points out that the requirement to build both category and brand prompted the agency's decision to use television and radio, as it was felt this would cost-effectively provide the biggest impact in the shortest time.

"The target market for EverFresh can be regarded as very broad – essentially anyone who buys pasteurised (fresh) milk," she says. "However, the critical core is made up of women over the age of 25. Our media strategy is therefore to 'own' women, particularly those with children, as family consumption is where the volumes are. We're therefore utilising breakfast and mid-morning time slots on national and regional radio stations while our TV strategy centers on the soaps.

"Our first TV burst is only set to run until August 11 (from July 24) but we are sure the wacky creative concept will ensure high recall and liking score. In fact, feedback from viewers and listeners is already very positive," she concludes.



Editorial contact

C-Cubed Communications
Petra Peacock
(011) 462-2596



28 Aug 2003 23:39

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