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Drum's 'Beat Goes On' with FCB Cape Town

Iconic local magazine Drum is relaunching with an intensive television, radio and poster campaign from Mother City agency, FCB Cape Town.

Devised by the agency's executive creative director Francois de Villiers, copywriter Xolisa Radebe and art director Declan Sharp, the campaign is intended to communicate Drum's persistent identity.

According to FCB Cape Town business director Nadja Srdic, Drum's editorial policy has wavered only once since its launch over 50 years ago. This lapse in the mid-80s, when the focus was on sensationalist reporting, cost it credibility then and, unfortunately, still clouds consumers' perception in the 2000s.

'The reality is that Drum today has morphed from a incredulous "rag" in the mid-80s to a contemporary and relevant publication emulating South African culture as it is today. This is exactly what the magazine was like in the 1960s and 1970s. We only notice the difference because the intense political struggle South Africans endured then is fortunately behind us now, and obviously politics therefore plays a minor role in today's editorial.'

The challenge facing FCB Cape Town's strategists was how to position the 'new' Drum against the original with its history of struggle politics in a way that did not overpower the 2004 version.

'The solution was simple,' said Srdic. 'Drum in 2004 is exactly what Drum was in its heyday: a reflection of our times, relevant to real South Africans who seek to empower themselves and better their lifestyles. So, instead of 'beating to a different drum', the 'beat goes on' - and that is the core positioning around which the campaign is built.'

The media strategy uses television to re-position the brand and drive sales, radio to deliver messages about current content, and street pole posters to reinforce the core message 'the beat goes on'.

The outdoor execution, currently only in Gauteng, is relatively novel - the agency has bought six consecutive street poles; the first four feature a cover girl from four of Drum's five decades of existence, the fifth the statement 'the beat goes on' and the sixth the current edition cover page (which is changed weekly). There is a second street pole campaign using soccer balls from each era.

The television campaign, which broke on October 24, comprises two 30-second commercials - 'Drum' and 'Pata Pata' - both directed by Thabo Marera from Velocity Films.

The first, accompanied by emotive music, takes the viewer through the Drum era highlighting that, as long as there is word to be written in South Africa, the 'beat' will go on. The commercial opens on the words 'We won't move' painted on the side of a building - these are synonymous with the redeployment of people from Sophiatown to Meadowlands in the 50s - and then moves on to the 60s slogan 'Away with pass laws, away', to the 70s and then the 80's with a young 'comrade' wearing a 'Free Mandela' campaign T-shirt. While these scenes were all in black and white, the final few are in colour to highlight a mood change. There's the '27 April' voting day, a nod to Mabrr (Brenda Fassie) and finally the hope of a successful 2010 Soccer World Cup bid.

'Pata Pata' shows Mariam Makeba performing her world famous song of the same name with Thandiswa Mazwai, who some critics have referred to as the 'Makeba of our times'. These two vocalists were chosen because they have graced the front covers of Drum Magazine on numerous occasions. This commercial shows Mariam passing her mantle over to Thandiswa; the original Drum making way for the new.

Recorded weekly, 20-second radio spots are content based and a fair reflection of the today in South Africa. 5-seconders are used to communicate issues that are of importance to the black market - health, sport, entertainment, fashion and BEE.

'It has been an honour to work on such a historic South African brand,' says Srdic. 'We're confident our approach exactly matches Drum's personality and look forward to tracking consumer response to the campaign.'



Editorial contact

C-Cubed Communications
Petra Peacock
(011) 794-4665

18 Nov 2004 02:29

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