With the Rugby World Cup just weeks away, hang on for an ad fest supreme. BrandInc have come roaring out of the starting blocks with a viral hit featuring various Springboks and The Kiffness.
The specialist creative sponsorship agency within the HaveYouHeard Group leveraged Toyota South Africa’s vehicle sponsorship of the Springbok rugby team to create a viral sensation. In the first phase of the campaign, Springbok captain, Siya Kolisi, teammates Frans Malherbe, Damian Willemse and Canan Moodie are driving in the Green Mamba, the Bok team’s official Toyota Hilux.
Kolisi leads his teammates in a ‘Gwijo’, a traditional isiXhosa call and response song. Kolisi has been teaching the chant to the Boks to build unity and raise the spirits of the team in the locker room before matches.
“As the vehicle sponsor to the Springboks, Toyota has always enjoyed a close relationship with South Africa’s national rugby team and a long history of creative collaboration,” says Izak van der Walt, head of sponsorship at BrandInc.
“We were looking for a way to give Springbok fans a personal and intimate insight into the team’s spirit and camaraderie, and this concept presented the perfect platform to help bring the Boks’ and Hilux’s legendary enthusiasm to South Africans everywhere.”
The original video was released on TikTok and seeded across other social media channels, including Toyota South Africa’s Facebook Page, Twitter account and Instagram account. It was quickly picked up and shared by local media platforms, including various sports and news outlets.
Once seeded, the second phase of the campaign was brought to life with the goal of leveraging The Kiffness’ talent and massive online following to amplify the Bok’s pre-game chant, as well as Toyota’s sponsorship.
With almost 1.9 million subscribers on YouTube and over 400 million views of his videos, The Kiffness has become an international sensation selling out shows in London, Amsterdam and Warsaw on his upcoming European tour.
Resonates with audience
“Creating and seeding content that resonates with the audience is a crucial component of a successful sponsorship strategy. Similarly, optimising and amplifying it to maximise reach is imperative,” says Brett Bruton, head of creative strategy for the HaveYouHeard Group.
“From a creative and strategic perspective, we wanted to ensure that our fans’ passion for the Springboks remained front and centre of the campaign, with Toyota acting as the driving force, literally and figuratively. Enlisting The Kiffness’ talent and profile was a key strategic component to maximise organic reach and engagement for both the Boks and Toyota.”
A few days after the original clip was shared, The Kiffness released a remix video that featured the musician in a Springbok T-shirt looping riffs on guitars, a drum, a trumpet, a keyboard and other instruments to add even more depth to the emotive song. To bring the entire campaign full circle, the singer appears in the Toyota Hilux with the four stars of the original clip in the video’s final frame.
The remixed version, posted on The Kiffness’ social channels using the hashtags #HiluxLegends and #ToyotaXSpringboks gained traction quickly, with Bok and music supporters being sent into a flurry of excitement and positivity. Some fans have asked if this chant will replace “Sweet Caroline” at stadiums.
“I’ve made songs about the Bokke in the past, but to actually make one with them was a real honour. I’m so happy with how this collab turned out, and seeing how well it has been received by South Africans across social media is just the cherry on top.”, says The Kiffness
Huge response
Following its release, the video has drawn a huge response across The Kiffness’, The Springbok’s and Toyota South Africa’s social channels, garnering over two million organic views over the first few days and being picked up by the likes of Good Things Guy, Cape Town etc. and being featured on the load shedding ESP app homepage.
The newly inspired passion for Gwijo by Bok fans has seen them sharing their own versions of the song as well, to celebrate their support and solidarity with the Boks for their upcoming matches and tournaments.
