Well the ref – Parliamentary Speaker saves the day

One of the things i haven’t quite understood is what comes with the position of the chairmanship of the House Business Committee or the HBC as it is called. Yes its the right to conduct parliamentary business but what ever happened to servant leadership? Isnt the leadership of that particular committee in service of the Kenyan people?

Well the war played out on media quite did not add or remove anything from what Kenyans are experiencing. I do happen to think there are alot of other important issues to deal with and Parliament, the incessant political wrangles and lack of forsight.

On another note they had Martha Karua on air today morning during the big breakfast and it started by Caroline Mutoko making an apology for something which was said back in 2003 on air that consequently saw her sue the station.

Im getting to like Martha Karua more and more every day!!! and maybe she should be president in 2012. She does have the knowledge and will to pull back our country from the doldrums.

Migingo Island…what is the fuss about?

For the last week or so the hottest topic around has been about Migingo island a 1 acre rocky outcrop on the Kenyan side of Lake Victoria. This one acre piece of rock has been the topic of everyone since the Ugandan goverment took over and hoisted thier flag on this island over a month ago.

There have been calls from the MP’s, Civil society and all manner of political leaders for our 2 principles to act fast and save our migingo islan from the expansionist strategists of the Ugandan president. Some stupid and thick headed Kibera youth went as far as uprooting the railway in Kibera!!!

Just last week the civil society was asking the President to act on the situation or be removed from office for not defending the territorial integrity of our nation. What rubbish!!!! we are ready to pick up arms to fight with a neighbouring country over a 1 acre piece of rock that no one knew existed 2 months back. I know thier are bigger pressing issues like hunger, disease, floods, roads bridges etc that would need to be addressed.

But hey no wonder our goverment is in such shamble, even the civil society who are mean’t to be policing the goverment have been sucked into this non existant conflict. And even when and if we ever get migingo back, what are we going to do with the island?  Nothing, nothin  at all…

Talk about totally misplaced priorities!!!!

Commercial break – “Pilsner Imara”

the imara wallpaper

the imara campaign wall paper

Ad: “Imara”

Client: Pilsner – East African Breweries

Pilsner Lager in Kenya originally belonged to the ALLSOPPS brewery, which later merged, with TUSKER Brewery in the 1930s and is It is a worldwide beer that is brewed in Canada, US, Europe and UK. It has a distinctive taste, and is perceived to be strong in alcoholic content higher than 4.7% ABV (Alcohol by volume), a smooth beer and gives a quick kick.

In this new ad for Pilsner, we open on a guy sitting in a mathree in a normal town setting. He is with his friend in the matatu, when he gets a phone call from his other friend who is waiting for them at the pub. The guy puts the phone next to a newly open bottle of Pilsner and our hero can hear the sizzle of the ice cold Pilsner Ice. He stands up like someone in a daze and walks out of the matatu to go find out what is holding up the traffic.

He passes a lot of cars and comes to a truck, which is the cause of the traffic jam. The truck’s body is too high and it cannot fit under the flyover. We see different people arguing about the best way to go around in solving the problem when our hero has a brilliant idea, a light bulb moment and we see as he goes round deflating the truck tires which then enables the truck to pass. He walks back as everyone is congratulating him and gets to the bar to have his favourite drink – Pilsner. The ad ends on the guy holding his Pilsner and the line “ Imara Kama Simba.”

This new campaign takes the “ Imara kama Simba” to a new level, from the initial one where the man was shown as a Simba through his shadow. Here we have also moved from the jungle as we know it to the concrete jungle where the guy who takes Pilsner has to use wit and wisdom to prove he is a Simba. Unfortunately certain aspects of this campaign rely on others to be fully understood, as the press ads & billboards only make sense once you have seen the TV ads. I’m quite impressed that EABL created a mini-site for this brand and it’s a practice they should continue with all their other brands. At the end of the day, this is a good ad that breathes new thinking to an old positioning statement and the products positioning in the market.

Martha & Mungatana walk the talk…at least we have politicians who still have thier spines

So as of today we have one less minister and assistant minister following the resignations of Hon Martha Karua and Hon Mungatana both who are from Narc Kenya. I for one am glad that we have one less minister making our broad cabinet shrink,  just a bit. I respect Martha Karua alot she is an “iron lady” and more and more of the kind of autocratic leader that Kenya needs if we are to grow exponentially like the Asian Tigers. I respect her since she isnt a wishy washy politicians like the current crop of politicians we have from both PNU, ODM-K and ODM. I mean i really thought that Raila had what it took but a little bit of power has turned him into just another also run politician with nothing to offer and i frankly expect nothing from him.

So to the Iron Lady Martha Karua i give you the thumbs up for proving you are more than just another spineless politician

the Iron Lady

Raila and Kibaki fail to see eye to eye…at a 23 million shillings retreat!!

Well if any of the principles had bothered to check with me i would have advised them that spending 23 million for a retreat at the Kilanguni Serena Lodge in the Tsavo was not the very best way to sort out issues. To make matters worse they had to troop out there with their entourage…or should i say the political weights who make every decision a whole lot harder since they also want a say in every decision made.

So we have had a whole weekend of accusations and counter accusations from the 2 sides in the grand coalition. I dont believe either and my advice would be next time Kibaki and Raila should get at it alone so that sobreity can prevail, coz for as long as thier entourage is there with them, nothing will ever be achieved.

I totally agree with the sentiments of this blogger -

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Albert Einstein
==

it defies logic why these guys met at Kilanguni and why they or kenyans in general expected different results.

its the same people, same egotistic and intransigent mindsets buoyed by both a false sense of dominance and pompousness masking sheer arrogance and mindlessly selfish stupidity.

nothing has changed in the approach to national issues, the composition remains of the same group of hard nuts, so what different outcome was expected of the meeting? casting the net further, what different outcome are we supposed to expect of the GCG if they have determined to deliberately continue to pull in different directions all the time

Commercial break – Lucozade

Commercial break

Ad: “Energizing Kenyans”

Client: Lucozade Sport – Glaxo Smithkline

Lucozade is an umbrella name for a series of Energy and Sports drinks. The original Lucozade, now called Lucozade Energy, is an energy drink containing glucose syrup and is produced by GlaxoSmithKline plc. The product was sold in a glass bottle with a Cellophane wrap until 1983, when the advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather set about rebranding Lucozade as an energy drink. Lucozade Sport is the official drink of the FA and the FA Premier League. Lucozade Sport Football also has partnerships with three of the top Premier League clubs, Manchester United FC, Arsenal FC and Liverpool FC.

Locally Lucozade Sport has run a few campaign each showing the energy you get once you take Lucozade. The original ad was quite humourous showing a guy drink Lucozade then outrun a cheetah. The second phase of the ads showed people who were doing 2 different profession like the lawyer by day, dj by night press ad.

In their new animated campaign, we start with a tired looking guy who is dragging himself on screen. He is given a Lucozade and he drinks it turning his whole body to a mass of bright orange bubbles. We see as he does different gymnastics on screen and he meets this guy whose hand is in a sling. He passes on the energy and the guy in a sling gets out of it and dances across the screen.

We see him end up next to a hospital bed and as he passes on his energy shown by the bright orange bubbles, the sick guy lying on the bed wakes up and is back to his usually whole self. The ad ends as the screen is filled with energy and we zoom out to see the lucozade bottle which opens to show the bubbles escape to form the map of Kenya. The tagline then appears “ Lucozade Sport, Energizing Kenya.”

This is a very brave ad and I should commend the brand manager at GSK for running it. It’s a different ad that uses animation to convey the message that Lucozade Sport fills you up with energy. Counting that the target audience are largely the younger, upmarket populace, this ad engages them and urges them to decipher the message. It talks to the audience rather than talking down on them, which makes them accept the message much more. I just hope more advertisers took this line with their target audiences…

Hong Kong Sevens Rugby – Kenyans start with winning ways

Kenya who have been placed in group F of The Hong Kong 7’s by winning thier first match 17 – 10 to West Indies. Tomorrow they have 2 more matches against USA and Scotland tomorrow.

Hunger alleviation for dummies – Kenyan edition!!!

I should say that this has got to be the most brilliant idea that has ever been effected in this market in regards to raising food for the starving population. Maybe for once the Goverment should watch and learn how its done, we could spin it off and call it “Hunger alleviation for dummies – Kenyan edition”

We have all talked about hunger, people starving and what we need or need not to do. There were food appeals but no one has mastered the art yet of galvanizing the ordinary kenyan to share the little they have than Radio Africa.

Here are the steps

1. Join forces with a reputable NGO in this case Red Cross
2. Talk about the campaign and set a target – in this case 200 tonnes and 2 million shillings.
3. Look for the easiest way to let the ordinary mwananchi to invest – Drop off points at Nakumatt & Uchumi’s Countrywide. Mpesa the cash to a given number for Red Cross
4. Set a definate timespan – 24 hours in this case on a particular day.
5. Invite other partners to increase the appeal – Metro FM, Coro FM, Kamame FM, K24, Milele FM, Ghetto Radio, Iqra FM, Baraka FM, Kass FM, Homeboyz .
6. Do it and announce the results – 264 tonnes and 2 million shillings.
7. Invite Corporates to partner with you by reducing the price of stuff being bought and contributing some of the proceeds to the venture – Unga, Pembe, Inca’s etc

Howz that for one day of work?

As for the Capital FM, Standard Group, KCB and Railways Mercy Train campaign i dont see it being as effective as the 24 hours for Kenya campaign. Im sorry but we are a very immediate generation, who want to donate today not in the next few weeks or one month. They should have thrown in thier lot with all the other stations and do one big thing!!! Guess that boat has sailed!!!

As for the Goverment i guess we should make this into a manual for the special programs ministry…it might help them, just might…

Commercial break

Ad: “Mpango wa Kando”

Client: National Aids Control Council

The National Aids Control Council was set up with a mandate to provide policy and a strategic framework for mobilizing and coordinating resources for prevention of HIV transmission and provision of care for the infected and affected. Currently the National Aids Control council works in conjunction with development partners, civil society, and the private & public sector. Previous campaigns by the National aids control council included the VCT centres campaigns, to urge people to get tested and know their status.

In this new campaign which has been running for the last 2 months, we open on a scene of a husband and wife watching TV. The ad comes on and we see a guy walk onto screen. It’s Jimmi Gathu, and he begins to talk about the fact that new research shows that most new HIV infections are occurring within a marriage. The ad catches the couple’s attention and they begin to watch with interest.

The narrator continues to explain the reasons for this; that many men in marriages have another woman on the side. The guy watching TV starts looking away obviously stung by those words as his wife gives him a very bad look which makes him even more uncomfortable. Jimmi Gathu, continues with his hard hitting message, indicating there is only one way to cut down on such infections. Married men need to stop having a spare wheel or another woman on the side. The ad ends with the NACC logo as the campaign sponsor.

The radio ads follow the same line and tone featuring Jimmi Gathu’s voice over, while the press ads illustrate a picture of a couple with their ‘spare wheels’ or lovers who also have picture of their lovers; the scene eventually builds into one tangled messy picture that captures the essence of unfaithfulness. The ads end in the same way urging men to stop having a lover on the side.

This campaign is very hard hitting and straight to the point. It gets the message across by using facts and uncovering common truths that no one feels comfortable to address. The fact that it uses Jimmi Gathu as an opinion former is very key because it helps the audience to connect with the facts. Jimmi is correctly positioned to discuss this issue in public because of his current role on National TV and also because he is married; so he knows what happens in marriage. He uses his credibility to appeal to other men to be more responsible and stop ‘mpango wa kando’ or ‘spare wheels’. It’s a very well written and directed ad, which delivers the message home with a punch.

Commercial Break – Coke Brrrr

Ad: “Brrr…on the Coke side of life”

Client: Coca Cola

Coca Cola as a brand needs no introduction and locally Coca Cola has been expanding their product lines to offer more than just soda. In the Kenyan market they offer water, juice, coffee and mixes under a number of different brands like Minute Maid, Chaywa, Dasani, Novida, Schweppes etc.

Last year, Coca Cola launched the original “Brrr” campaign ad, which caused a stir worldwide and in Africa. Locally the ad was quite a hit and it did help that the lead actor was local and is popularly known due to his comedy on one of the leading local stations. It’s not often that a commercial works its way into the fabric of society and becomes a universally adopted catchphrase, but in this case “Brrr” became a buzz word both locally and internationally.

The new “Brrr” commercial is the second phase of the campaign showing the spread of the African “Brrr” effect from country to country. The commercial begins in an International conference and we can see there is an air of boredom in the room. It looks hot and stuffy and our African leader and his sidekick quite bored, when the sidekick has a bright idea and produces a cold Coke from his bag. The African leader picks up the soda and takes a well deserved sip and produces a loud “Brrr” that reverberates across the room.

Everyone around the room is jolted back into reality, as people start to wonder what the “Brrr” is. We see as the Brrr sound travels from country to country, as different people try out Coca Cola including the huge guy in a tavern in the US whose “Brrr” sound reverberates all throughout the Grand Canyon. The ad ends as the African leader is trying to tutor the Japanese ambassador on how to do a “Brrr” which they can’t quite do. In desperation Charles offers him a Coke and after a sip he does a perfect “Brrr.” The ad then ends with the line “Its Brrr on the Coke side of Life.”

The first phase of this particular campaign was fun and counting it was shot in Zanzibar was really easy to relate to. Charles Bukeko, the lead actor did a fantastic job and since the campaign was quite humourous making “Brrr” part of local lingo. In this ad the African “Brrr” is being exported internationally to other markets, to continue the Coke side of life theme. In my opinion, this ad is quite good though it lacks the spark the first ad had maybe due to the fact that its more suited for an international audience since it looks to exporting the African “Brrr” to the rest of the world, or maybe its because it’s a sequel. A good ad but the first one was excellent.