One of South Africa’s favourite advertising taglines, “Give that man a Bells”, has come to life on the streets of Johannesburg through an integrated and interactive campaign that merges out of home media with social media.
Continental Outdoor Media, working with Nota Bene and their outdoor experts Kinetic, the creative agency King James, Grapevine and the Bells brand team have enabled the man on the street to recognise local heroes by putting their names in neon lights, and voting to “give that man a Bells”. Interactive billboard sites all over the city encourage resident to nominate the names who they believe are heroes – men and women – in their lives via SMS.
The campaign is fun, punchy and creates maximum impact in the outdoor arena, in the age of social media. The idea was sparked by the rebranding and repositioning of the Bells brand that was engineered by collaboration of top creative teams and implemented by Continental Outdoor Media, who are always looking for innovative ways to stay at the cutting edge of the outdoor industry.
The essence of an unsung hero is someone who does great things in either their community, their industry of choice or just day-to-day life, without feeling the need for recognition, or receiving it. There’s probably an unsung hero in all our lives and because they don’t do it for the recognition, they are often overlooked. This is a chance for these everyday heroes to see their names up in “Neon Lights” and for the community to recognise the valuable contribution that everyday people are making in South Africa.
