Why South African advertising needs to rediscover its storytelling roots

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Brand stories

Telling brand stories, telling product stories and most importantly telling consumer stories. You know, the ones that resonate, the ones that make us laugh, the ones that create an impact and most importantly, the ones that make us feel something.

Since the dismal performance of South African advertising campaigns at the 2024 Cannes Lions, it has me wondering; what’s happened?

We've forgotten about what makes us, us. When we receive a brief it’s easy to become hyper focused on the metrics. We are often so intent on making sure we tick the box for the right tactics, streamline strategies and deliver a return on investment for the client, that we often lose sight of the heart and soul of the ask – connecting with the consumer. In our frenzied rush to deliver outcomes, the human elements fade into the background.

The stories have left the building and with them, the humans they resonate with. As marketers, we fully recognise the importance of data. Yet, the real magic lies in using data to uncover key insights that bring stories to life. Lately, it feels like the essence of marketing is being reduced to a checklist of metrics, with storytelling stripped of its humanity.

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The result? Campaigns that may target demographics but don’t speak to the real lives, challenges and triumphs of South Africans. And the truth is, people are tired of feeling like they are nothing more than numbers on a spreadsheet.

Tell me there is a happy ending.

Rich, Resilient, Resourceful

The good news is WE control the stories we tell and WE can turn things around. The South African Advertising Industry is rich, resilient, and resourceful. We need to stop treating every brief as a performance metric and rather as a story waiting to be told. An opportunity to connect with our consumers. We need to give our marketers the space to explore, to make mistakes, and to see the beauty of humanity in our work again.

So, here’s the challenge (or what we like to call, our Feel Good ambition): Let’s show the world what South African advertising can look like when it is driven by true storytelling, passion, empathy, and understanding of our people. Because at the end of the day, advertising should be about more than just selling products; it should be about connecting people to brands in ways that feel real, meaningful and authentic.

If we get this right, next year’s Cannes will look very different. And, more importantly, so will the way South Africans feel about the stories we’re telling on their behalf. It’s time to remind ourselves why we fell in love with advertising in the first place and to bring that love, and human, back into every campaign, every brief, and every story.