et ADVERTISING&MARKETING
TONY KOENDERMAN
tonyk@finweek.co.za
STINGS
FEMININE
MYSTERIES
ADVERTISING FEMININE
hygiene products can be
tricky, especially as you can't
ensure only those in the
market for them are exposed
to the ad. But animation cre-
ates an arm's-length feeling
that helps overcome awk-
wardness.
In this 15-second com-
mercial for Lifestylefeminine
products by production
house Tennant McKay,two
girls dive off a high board
into a pool. One comes up
immaculate, swimming cap
and goggles in place. The
other is a mess, having lost
her cap, her hair dishevelled
- and, embarrassingly, her
femi ine hygiene product
floa -'1gon the water. "Pro-
teGio'l is nothing without
I " ~'J1Sthe payoff line.
• - ~ e pads mould to
< oody."
'= S devised the
= EEK 23 SEPTEMBER
SUSTAINABILlTY
Green agency
opens
OgilvyEarth aims to change SA's
filthy habits
SUSTAINABILITY may cost a bit at the start but
eventually it pays off in spades. That's the mes-
sage of OgilvyEarth, the environmentalist "com-
munications practice" ("agency" to you) which
has opened in South Africa. It's starting under the
umbrella of Zoom, Ogilvy's retail agency - not
because it's retail-focused but because Zoom is an
active environmental protagonist.
OgilvyEarth was started in Australia and since
its global launch two years ago has spread to a
dozen countries. It's an idea whose time has come,
says global president of OgilvyEarth and MD of
Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, Seth Farbman. "But
I also hope its time will pass. Our ultimate goal
is to make sustainability so ingrained in the mar-
keting and innovation process that it no longer
requires deep specialty practices."
Farbman says he "couldn't be prouder of the
2010
THERE
'SNO
PtA
, NET
progress and results of OgilvyEarth. We were
recently named the top sustainability commu-
nications agency by Verdantix, a well-regarded
sustainability research group. And OgilvyEarth
has grown rapidly, as more and more clients rec-
ognise the need for specialist knowledge in such
a dynamic field."
Though the financial collapse of 2008 took
people's eye off the environment, it also made
them realise the collapse was partly attributable to
business non-sustainability, says Zoom executive
creative director Deon Robbertze. Consequently,
awareness of environmental problems is growing
as the evidence of past neglect becomes impos-
sible to deny. "If we're not sustainable on a planet
with 6bn people, how much worse off will we be
in 2050, when the population is 9bn?"
Robbertze concedes he has a mountain of
apathy to climb in SA, although in some respects
we're ahead of Western countries. Impoverished
Africans tend to re-use waste materials, turning a
length of wire into a toy or plastic packaging into
place mats. But there's still a lot of litter ...
"The new sustainable economy can create
jobs," he says. "Although sustainable options can
cost money initially, over the long term they'll
save money and leaders in sustainability will earn
enormous credit with the public."
Green-washing is a problem. "People get bom-
barded with claims. But in the age of transparen-
cy, the consumer can find out anything about your
brand - so you can't get away with it for ever."
Robbertze's business targets look achievable.
"Within a year we want four medium-sized cli-
ents. Currently, the unit is part of Zoom but when
it's proved its viability it could spin off as a sepa-
rate agency. We're running a tight ship and I'm
working on both agencies."
The primary pitch is legacy-based. "What kind
of world are you leaving to your children?" •

.- •.•_ ••0 5 & ANSWERS WITH SETH FARBMAN
Fear of the green wash' I Orange squeezed
APAnTI - no longer the biggest challenge
facmz emironmental marketing - "Green-
washinz false claiming) is. "Even inad-
vertent mar eting claims that overstate a
produ "5 sustainability destroy consumer
trust," says Seth Farbman, globarCEO of
Ogilvyliarth. "Once consumer confidence
is lost, we risk losing all the progress of the
past decade,"
In South Africa to launch the agency and
speak at a conference, Farbman answered
questio about sustainability marketing.
How important is sustainability?
Ultimately, sustainability allows steady,
unendinz growth - economic and social -
by recognising the limitations of resources
and working within them. Sustainability
delivers a world where we no longer must
accept the false choice between a rising
quality of life today and an environment
that can sustain it tomorrow.
Can we make a difference?
We really don't have a choice. There's only
sakenuus
in die taal wat jy verstaan
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so much oil, water
and air. The Unit-
ed States already
has the technol-
ogy (more efficient
appliances and"
cars, better insulation, etc) to reduce energy
use by 40% - without consumers having to
make a sacrifice.
Is public apathy still a problem?
Public apathy will always be a problem,
but it's our job as marketers to make people
understand why they should care.
Does the public dismiss sustainability as
a marketing gimmick?
There certainly is some "green fatigue"
after the past few years of constant sus-
tainability marketing. But consumers have
also become much more educated, and are
even more loyal to companies that market
authentically and honestly.
For a fuller report of this interview,
please go to www.fin24.comIAdReview .•
BRANDING
FRENCH-GERMAN mobile network opera-
tor Orange has lost a court battle with a
South African company that refused to be
bullied into changing its name. Orange had
been pressurising local businesses to stop
using the word or the colour" orange" in
their names, but accounting software com-
pany Orangeworks has won the right to
the name. "I just felt very strongly we had
to fight for our rights as a South African
company that was being bullied by a multi-
national," says CEO Siegfried Rousseau.
The Registrarof Trade Marks told the
court the products and services offered by
the companies were sufficientlydissimilarthat
consumers wouldn't be confused. The court
therefore upheld Orangeworks' right to con-
tinue trading under the name and awarded
it costs, which, says Rousseau, amounted to
"several hundred thousand rand".
Rousseau says changing the colour
"wouldn't have been the end of the world"
but he felt strongly about being bullied.
POlOKO MOFOKENG
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23 SEPTEMBER 2010 FINWEEK 67