Brand South Africa Blog » Simon Barber

A Goosebump Moment

izwi — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 19:58:24 +0000

Here is one of those South African stories that gives you goosebumps, or a least which gives me goosebumps. This one was told in today’s New York Times by Barry Bearak, the husband of the husband and wife team that covers southern Africa for one of the last really great newspapers left standing.

Bearak was writing about the crime wave that wasn’t, about how hordes of barbaric South Africans somehow managed not to machete World Cup fans and their teams to death, how hundreds of thousands of visiting pockets were left unpicked, and how their owners were returning home miraculously unmugged, unhijacked and otherwise unmolested. Read the piece. It’s a delight.

Other than the line about South Africa’s criminal classes having proved themselves to be even more inept than the French team which Bafana Bafana put out of everyone’s misery so beautifully on June 22, of particular delight was the story of the Englishman and the cab driver, or at least the way it ended.

On June 11, it seems, Paul Clark left his computer bag on the floor of a taxi. In the bag with the computer was $2400 in cash. The cab driver, Tom Tsepe, had given Clark his card so Clark was able to call him. Tsepe found the bag and returned it, computer still inside but money gone. Clark accused Tsepe of having taken the cash and the cab driver was hauled before one of the special courts set up for the rapid processing of World Cup-related crime.

Clarke ultimately had to admit he had no idea who had taken the money; it could even have been one his own friends. So Tsepe was acquitted, but not before spending five hours in a cell, losing a day’s work and having to hire a lawyer, all of which set him back around $1000.

Then came the South African moment. Bearak was there to capture it. Accused and accuser ran into each other on the way from court. I don’t know about you, but I doubt I would have said anything, let alone anything printable, to the Englishman had I been in the cab driver’s shoes.

But Tsepe, as Bearak tells it, did have something to say. “My friend, I’m sorry you lost your money.”

There is one of false note in Bearak’s otherwise beautifully executed piece. He attributes Tsepe’s decency and ability to empathise with someone who has caused him no inconsiderable distress to his being on his best behaviour because of the World Cup. No. The taxi driver said what he said because that is the way South Africans are.

Marketing SA on Chicago buses

izwi — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 22:34:08 +0000

The World Cup final is to be broadcast live in Chicago’s hallowed sporting arena, Soldier Field. Here are ads Brand South Africa has created for the South African consulate general to run in city buses with support from local sponsors.

Oxana Rocks

izwi — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:57:37 +0000

A personal favorite from the Get Wildly Creative About South Africa entries.

Wildly Creative Winners

izwi — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:08:13 +0000

Grand Prize Winner

Video 2nd

Video 3rd

Print 1st

Banner 1st

Print 2nd

Blow that trumpet

izwi — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:10:17 +0000

Can the vuvuzela emit more than the monotonous, hornet-like buzz of which its critics complain? We think it can. Here’s your chance to show the world. Below is a YouTube of the Tuba Mirum from Verdi’s Requiem, one of the most powerful trumpet pieces every composed, intended, literally, to wake the dead.

Obviously, the melody will be impossible to reproduce with a vuvuzela, but the rhythm and dynamics should not be out of reach. Show us what you can do. Upload the result to YouTube or Zoopy or any other site that hosts audio, including your own blog or Tumblr if you have one, and send us a link.

We just need the trumpet part or parts, if there’s more than one of you or you have the capacity to mulitrack. If you could add an appropriate chorus that would blow our mind.

Showing Chicago how it’s done

izwi — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 14:56:46 +0000

South Africa made its presence, and vibe, felt in Chicago last Friday morning. South Africa’s consulate, in conjunction with the International Marketing Council, hosted a kick-off event in Daley Plaza, including a live, giant screen broadcast of the opening match, South Africa vs. Mexico. Here is a scene from half time.

Stairway to Heaven

izwi — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 22:05:40 +0000

This view of Durban’s Moses Mabhida stadium simply screamed for a caption referencing Led Zeppelin. We’ll be giving away copies of this poster in Chicago’s Daley Plaza when the FIFA World Cup kicks off on Friday. To download a printable version, click here.

Everywhere

izwi — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 19:44:38 +0000

Washington commuters learnt how to pronounce vuvuzela today, courtesy of Express, the free newspaper the Washington Post produces for the work-bound.

Dance Mama Diski in New York

izwi — Tue, 25 May 2010 12:13:01 +0000

Christine Vaindirlis counts her hometown as Johannesburg, trained for the opera at La Scala in Milan, and has just put out her debut album, Dance Mama, a glorious fusion of South African-inspired funk and zydeco, in New York.

Do the diski

izwi — Mon, 24 May 2010 22:11:57 +0000

Okay, time is running out if you want to learn the diski. Our analytics tell us that a lot of people find this site because they’re looking for lessons. Finally, you’re in luck. Master these steps and become part of the great World Cup chorus line.

Diski Dance lesson from BIG Media on Vimeo.

Diski Dance move 1 from BIG Media on Vimeo.

Diski Dance move 2 from BIG Media on Vimeo.

Diski Dance move 3 from BIG Media on Vimeo.

Diski Dance move 4 from BIG Media on Vimeo.

Diski Dance move 5 from BIG Media on Vimeo.

Now that you’re done, take a survey: