Nelson Mandela Bay is certainly starting to make its voice heard thanks to the local talent and businesses passionately supporting the local industry. Local ISP, Axxess have been selected as a finalist for their locally produced television advert in the annual Loerie Awards category of “TV1a: TV & Cinema Commercials – Short Format.”
The television advert was put together for Axxess, a local company with a national footprint with it’s head office in Port Elizabeth, by the Boomtown Strategic Brand Agency and filmed by Rooftop productions for a television ad campaign to promote their per gigabyte ADSL account.
The advert was filmed in Port Elizabeth in June 2010 and featured local actors for flighting on television screens nationally in July. The advert enjoyed much success and the orange character covered in Post-It notes, known as “The Gig,” became an instant, huge hit. The advert was seen during the last season of Idols, across the DSTV Channels as well as across the SABC channels.
The Loerie Awards take place annually in Cape Town between September the 16th and 18th and are recognised as the most prestigious awards in our country within this space. ‘The Loeries,’ were first held in 1978, as a mechanism to support and grow television advertising. Since then the awards have expanded to encompass every area of brand communication including radio, print, design, architecture, direct marketing, non-broadcast video, live events, and digital media all within South Africa.
Axxess’ National Marketing Manager, Alexa Cunningham was over the moon with the news saying; “It’s truly an impressive achievement and I must admit that this is certainly, and to date one of our proudest moments in the industry, as it truly has proven that we are able to compete with some really huge brands not only locally, but nationally too. We celebrate this nomination jointly with our cast, production crew and advertising agency, ALL hailing from the Nelson Mandela Bay. Our very own ‘The Gig’, has become somewhat of a celebrity since the TV Commercial and our brand has enjoyed the benefits of having just the right character to be the guide to the internet which can sometimes be a very overwhelming place to be for anyone and he will be joining us when we go up to Cape Town for The Loerie Awards.”
Neil Hart, the Managing Director from Boomtown Strategic Brand Agency said; “It’s always an honour to be recognised for the work you’re doing and this nomination makes all those involved particularly proud as it continues to establish us on the national arena and feature us with the best creative agencies nationally. Boomown, Axxess and Rooftop worked together to propel the brand to great heights. Who says greatness doesn’t come from The Nelson Mandela Bay region? We will be holding thumbs come September.”
Richard Ahlfeldt, the Managing Director at Rooftop Productions commented; “The Gig concept developed by Boomtown, was a fantastic opportunity to produce this commercial. It’s great working with a team who are passionate about developing our local advertising industry. Even a shortlisting is a great achievement, proof that Nelson Mandela Bay has what it takes to compete nationally.”
Alan Straton
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