Youth Day

Africa’s largest mobile network operator, MTN South Africa, launched its Youth 50th Commemoration Campaign, which was developed in partnership with integrated creative agency M+C Saatchi Abel – part of Africa’s largest independently owned group of creative companies, The Up&Up Group.

The campaign served as a tribute to South Africa’s fallen heroes of the 1976 Soweto uprising, honouring their legacy 50 years on while inspiring a new generation to carry their story forward.

The ‘CarryThemForward’ campaign, in partnership with the June16 Foundation, marked the fiftieth anniversary of the 1976 Soweto Youth Uprising, honoured the young people who changed South Africa's future, with a tribute to the life of Hector Pieterson and other young national heroes whose courage continues to inspire young people today.

Capturing the essence of South Africa’s Youth Day celebrations, the campaign saw MTN changing its network carrier display name on millions of phones to honour these heroes. By encouraging smartphone users to join the movement to keep the memory of the young heroes of 1976 alive, the campaign transformed millions of smartphones into memorials of freedom.

“This campaign was MTN’s tribute to the young people who helped shape where our country is now,” says MTN SA Acting Brand and Marketing General Manager, Kholofelo Magagane. ”MTN believes in South Africa. We recognise that, while the country is shaped by the past, it does not necessarily define the future. We acknowledge that, for us to move forward as country, we must know where we come from.. Today’s youth have different needs. They want an inter-connected ecosystem and society, and that is what we strive to provide them with. Connectivity enables them to be heard.”

The campaign call went out on 11 June, with MTN leading the way by converting prime brand space – usually reserved for the mobile operator’s carrier name – into a tribute to freedom fighter Hector Pieterson, and with thousands following suit, every lock screen was turned into a worthy tribute that participants could carry in their pocket. MTN’s bold creative partnership effectively transformed smartphones into memorials of freedom – creating a powerful wave of pride and remembrance that moved Mzansi.

M+C Saatchi Abel Managing Director, Masego Motsogi, says: “The idea behind this campaign was to elevate MTN as the youth brand that makes the unseen visible, and the untold heard. We believe in brutal simplicity of thought, and we set out to develop a campaign idea that was simple, unique and that authentically reflected the core ethos of Youth Day. With a single-minded campaign message ‘Carry it Forward’ the campaign encouraged people to ‘choose your hero – create your picture – carry them forward,’ sending a powerful message that MTN stands with all South Africans in honour of our shared heritage.

The campaign targeted all South Africans through the deployment of various digital touchpoints, effectively turning up to 30-million smartphones into a tribute to the country’s past heroes and sparking a national conversation about the people, stories and sacrifices behind the freedom many take for granted.

Motsogi concludes: “With the ‘Carry it Forward’ campaign we took a highly emotive, respectful approach to a sensitive time in our history. With storytelling at the heart of the campaign, it connected people, sparking conversation and engagement, ultimately creating a shared national moment that just worked.”