It was a matter of pure coincidence when we saw the name Strydom as a Director on the credits of the new Jozi Jockeys advertisement for the 2014 Sansui Summer Cup. The clip of taxis dicing and generally doing what they do worst, this time just accompanied by an inflammatory commentary from Clyde Basel, had us worried.
Produced by Retroviral and Directed by Mark Strydom, the 1,11 minute video has got people talking- and wondering, to be frank.
But that just probably happens as a natural reaction from many a privileged South African who has ever sat in a vehicle and observed the antics of these loose, wild, often untamed horses on our roads.
Jozi’s premier horse racing event, the Sansui Summer Cup takes place on 29 November 2014. It has a long history dating back to the Gold Rush days-but that is not important, anymore.
To celebrate this year’s event, Sansui Summer Cup have paid tribute to Jozi and some of its everyday jockeys – the taxi drivers.
The Jozi Jockeys
The ad features taxi drivers racing each other on Jozi’s roads, wearing silks, accompanied by a commentary from Clyde Basel.
They are also distracted during the ‘race’ by the beautiful Dineo Moeketsi, who is the Face of the Sansui Summer Cup in 2014.
So this is what the Joburgers have had to resort to in order to up the ante and try and get the crowds to turn out on Sansui Summer Cup Day?
“We are now in our sixth year of sponsorship of the race, and we needed to do something different. We want people to be talking about the Sansui Summer Cup in the same breath as the country’s other major horseracing events like the Durban July and the Met,’ said JD Group Marketing Executive Marc Joubert .
He added that he was thrilled by the reaction to the advertisement and said that he believed the concept was a well thought out one to attract the Joburger looking for a great day out. It also spoke to Sansui’s mass market.
“The idea is that for R75, one can dress up and enjoy a day of great fun, entertainment and excitement against the background of twelve exciting horseraces. The Joburg day-outer may not have as many options as in other provinces, and horseracing really does have so much to offer.”
JD Group Marketing Exec Marc Joubert is thrilled by the response
Joubert, explained that the Jozi Jockey advert already had over 20 000 hits on Youtube and was growing virally by the day.
He said that it played on the synergy between the daily race run by millions of South Africans as they raced from home to work.
We asked him if it wasn’t playing to a captive market on Tellytrack, though.
“The ad is digital and it is aimed at a far wider audience. We have people across the spectrum talking about it and it has ignited curiousity and interest.”
One of the stars of the advert is Reginald Nhlanhla Ndebele, who grew up in Newcastle in KZN.
He says that he perceives Johannesburg as the ‘Hollywood of South Africa.’
Rank and file? Our favourite road hogs are doing well for Sansui
Every racegoer at Turffontein on Sansui Summer Cup Day stands a chance to win one of ten Datsun Go’s.
This coincides rather sweetly with the Nissan Motor Company plans to revive the Datsun brand in South Africa with the launch of the Datsun GO, a five-door hatchback , apparently this week.
The aim is to launch the car at less than R100 000.
The revival of Datsun comes amidst global efforts to take advantage of the growing young middle class in emerging markets like India, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa.
Datsun vehicles were sold in South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s but the brand name was changed to Nissan in the early 1980’s.
Love it or hate it – if you gotta Go, you gotta Go.
http://www.wheels24.co.za/NewModels/Datsun-revival-is-a-Go-for-SA-20130715
