The latest TV commercial for the headache solution, Grand-Pa, features iconic artist Sam Nhlengethwa who reveals true creative value and the liberating effect of attaining one’s artistic goals.
The brief from Grand-Pa to Ogilvy Johannesburg was to demonstrate the lives of real people, who devote themselves wholeheartedly to their careers.
Ogilvy Johannesburg Executive Creative Director, Fran Luckin, says this prerequisite encapsulates a great number of people and professions. “But that was not the only challenge for us. We had to choose someone with a profession that would engage viewers in a TV commercial and clearly illustrate how the product helps that person achieve his or her goals,” she says.
For Ogilvy Johannesburg all these requirements distilled themselves into the personage of Sam Nhlengethwa, a South African artist of infinite talent and versatility.
Ogilvy Johannesburg’s brief to him was to paint a mural in an area of the city that requires colour and vibrance. “As a location, Hillbrow is about as real as it gets. It’s the perfect locale for the enriching nature of art to be felt,” says Luckin.
In the commercial, Nhlengethwa guides a number of novice painters in the finer art of airbrush work. “Sam really personifies what it means to believe in your work and the lengths it can take to honour that belief. He was a gracious presence on set, a gentleman of the highest order,” comments Luckin.
