generalspeaking

Bravo, Nando's!

Admittedly, it would be easier to find comic relief in spoofing Zimbabwe's monomaniacal President Robert Mugabe if he weren't such a destructive tyrannical force in his country, yet there is much to admire in the cleverly ironic prodding a South African restaurant chain, Nando's, has been indulging in, to their credit. A bold audacity that has certainly not been reflected in the attitude that the South African government has taken toward one of its neighbours.

Despite that desperate refugees - fleeing the social/security/employment/economic disaster that Zimbabwe has become under the despotic, despoiling, ruinous reign of Robert Mugabe - seeking tentative refuge in South Africa, and bringing down the wrath of many South Africans fearing competition from the refugees when they are themselves facing dire social, safety and economic conditions.

Nando's "last dictator standing" (they only wish) advertisements are clever and quite to the point. There are those commercials that highlight the chain's six-piece chicken combination plate that depict Robert Mugabe fondly reminiscing over the past with other, now-departed dictators, singing "Those Were the Days".

One commercial features Robert Mugabe engaged in a water-gun battle with Muammar Gadhafi, the deposed and departed Libyan leader. Another with Robert Mugabe joyfully creating sand angels with the late unlamented butcher of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, thinking back to their glory days. And yet another with Robert Mugabe exultantly riding a tank with Uganda's murderous Idi Amin.

Only to awaken from those dreams of what the world of brutal dictatorship was like back then (not that all that much has changed since then; some shuffling about of tyrants has occurred; there are always others standing patiently or impatiently as the case may be, in line to take over from those who are gone. There will never be a shortage of such dynamic, brutal world-class psychopaths) to find himself alone at a dinner table.

Zimbabwe's youth group, Chipangano has taken great umbrage at these commercials, demanding an apology from the Nando's chain, and threatening to boycott it should their demands not be respected and acted upon. The alternative for Nando's is to face retribution. Will they be cursed by Chipangano? Will a cross-border attack on its outlets be mounted?

Or will Zimbabwe's youth seek to ruin the chain's enterprise by boycotting it entirely, ostensibly leading to its financial downfall? Or, might it be possible for Zimbabweans to scrutinize the realities behind the fantasy and take it upon themselves to rid the country of its hatefully ruinous Godfather of privation?

Neither, alas, the threat has been taken seriously, and has resulted in the chain pulling its parodies of one of the world's most heartless egomaniacs whose pleasure appears to lie in the destruction of his country:

“We feel strongly that this is the prudent step to take in a volatile climate and believe that no TV commercial is worth risking the safety of Nando’s staff and customers,” said the company."

Labels: Africa, Heroes and Villains, Marketing, Political Realities

posted by Pieface @ Saturday, December 10, 2011