Nandos Hits Malema with a Rubber Chicken

In what will undoubtedly be the last of the Election Circus (although the Political Circus will continue) Nando’s aired an advert in which a rubber chicken Julius lookalike explains to us about change. The literal kind you would get for paying for your Nando’s with a R100 note.

In long-established Nando’s style, it’s a satire. It takes the piss, as they do, out of something or someone, and in this instance it’s Julius Malema, the ANC Youth Leagues President. Self-confessed decoy for the ANC, Julius is depicted as a ventriloquist’s puppet sitting on the knee of who, in context, would be Jacob Zuma. He talks about change; change for a R50 note and change for a R100.  At the end of the advert the unseen ventriloquist’s hand is placed on his shoulder, but regardless, the puppet still loving looks up at his puppet master.

Because Julius feels he has exclusive rights on mocking other people, he didn’t take kindly to the advert, although, he did say in the media, he was not offended by it.  However, he added that if Nando’s didn’t take the advert off air, Nando’s and everything Nando’s would feel the might of the militant youth – that would be the ANCYL.

I wonder if they were going to spite Nando’s by buying up all their peri-peri stock.

He also said that the advert was the ‘most racist advert ever’ and felt that portraying political figures as cartoons was racist.  He then followed it up by saying ‘why don’t they use Helen Zille?’ once again contradicting himself in his own argument and making me laugh.

Oh, Julius!

I have to give it to the ANC – this whole controversy after controversy is exceptionally clever marketing.  They have garnered for themselves more media exposure than what even their many millions could buy.  If only the controversy about corruption and stupidity wasn’t so true.

And good on Nando’s for capitalising on a bit of controversy themselves and, of course, for unparalleled peri-peri chicken.