Duke and The Willowton Group deliver the extraordinary and authentic with its current Sunfoil campaign. The campaign celebrates tasty South African foods prepared using oil – highlighting the joy of home-made fried foods that are steeped in tradition, love, and family.
Featuring South African Aunties, the country’s biggest protectors and most vocal supporters of traditional foods and flavours, the campaign takes on one of the product’s stiffest competitors – the air fryer.
“We wanted to reignite love for the Sunfoil brand amidst everyday working South Africans, going beyond price so that the product really stood out in the category,” says Ishvar Hurbans, brand manager at The Willowton Group.
” This campaign not only celebrates culture, but also a simple, and perhaps unpopular truth, that food just taste better when fried. “
– Zanele Zwane
The Duke team worked to deliver a campaign that not only ensured the right tone and humour, but also stayed true to cultural nuances. The result was beautiful, caricature-style illustrations of aunties from different cultures set against patterned backgrounds that feature traditional delicacies. From koeksisters to samoosas, each Auntie told a story of their traditions and much-loved foods, while also telling the world exactly how they felt about air fryers.
“With work like the ‘Aunties campaign’, Duke has contributed significantly to our brand’s growth and helped us achieve our marketing objectives. Their team is professional, responsive, and dedicated to delivering exceptional results,” said Hurbans.
“What excites me about work like this, is that it draws deeply on the South African lived experience. This campaign not only celebrates culture, but also a simple, and perhaps unpopular truth, that food just taste better when fried. I believe there is power in work that has potential to stand out in a category and build market value through product truths and entertaining storytelling,” says Zanele Zwane, managing director at Duke.
“We are posed with various challenges when it comes to consumable brands, with a long list of considerations. It can be tough to tick all the boxes, but with a strong insight and creative idea, the complicated becomes simple. The Sunfoil campaign carries that simplicity. This coupled with a client that has the passion and appetite for creativity, is the perfect combination,” concludes Zwane.
The campaign launched with OOH executions and was followed by content videos that added animation and voice to the illustrations.
