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Favourites are hard to do, especially when there’s a sea of multitudes to pick from. Such labour.
“Share your top 10 print ads from Africa” is certainly an unfair request to one who’s got a tone of ads collected obsessively for years. And the harder it becomes when “Africa” becomes the filter of such request. Random questions raced through my mind.
Against what should the selections be judged? Wit? Execution? Visual Gymnastics? Copy craft? Effectiveness? Most-awarded? Do I ditch suspiciously scams ads (Though it’s hard to know them)? Life must be hard for jury members of advertising awards.
The following print ads from African ad agencies are particularly striking at least in the sense that they’re partly well executed and pass their messages across in compelling ways. I took the liberty to include a non-print campaign that I jealously love.
And for the possibility of ruining them, I’ve refrained from rationalizing each. Eat your hearts out.
Images from AdsoftheWorld
“Wildfires burns more than trees” Brand: Volunteer Wildfire Services Advertising Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, Cape Town, South Africa
“Nobody’s immune to breast cancer.” Brand: ALCC Advertising Agency: DDB, Maputo, Mozambique
“Hear it as the author intended” Brand: Red Pepper Audio Books Advertising Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, Johannesburg, South Africa
“You can’t get any close to the news.” Advertising Agency: Lowe Cape Town, South Africa Brand: The Cape Times.
“Make your next destination less predictable” Brand: Visit Mozambique Advertising Agency: DDB, Maputo, Mozambique
“African fashion brings back what the apartheid abolished: harmony between colors.” Brand: Mozambique Fashion Week. Advertising Agency: DDB, Maputo, Mozambique
Get closer. Advertising Agency: JWT, Tunisia Brand: Panasonic
Unleash The Beast Brand: Viagra. Advertising Agency: ADCC, Nairobi, Kenya
“Speechless, no longer.” Brand: GirlHub. Advertising Agency: DDB, Lagos, Nigeria
Honourable mention
Brand: The Zimbabwean TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris South Africa
