Single Ladies

A new television commercial featuring dozens of ordinary South Africans dancing to Beyonce’s hit, ‘Single Ladies’, is an extension of Vodacom’s drive to illustrate that the internet is ‘maklik’.

Devised by Draftfcb Johannesburg executive creative director Grant Jacobsen and his team, the 60-second commercial broke late in June after three 15-second teaser ads flighted for a week to prime television viewers to expect another epic from the cellular network.

The characters from these teaser ads – two elderly farmers, a couple of gym jocks and a construction site foreman – also feature in the new commercial. The central character, however, is a goofy-looking, ordinary guy who goes on a whirlwind tour that starts in his bedroom and takes him to the colourful nooks and crannies of South Africa. He executes the dance routine performed by Beyonce Knowles and her troupe and gets all the ordinary South Africans he encounters along the way, including Vodacom favourites Bankole and De Pinna, to perform with him. The ad concludes with a subtle teaser of its own suggesting that that there is more to come – the final few seconds features show biz-styled text saying ‘connect more’ and ‘live more’ as well as a West End-style logo billing ‘connect for fame’.