Give Jan the red card
Keo, in his weekly Business Day newspaper column, writes Vodacom’s Player 23 campaign is an insult to the cosmopolitan South African rugby supporter.
For 10 years South African rugby’s marketing team did everything to reflect that in a new South Africa there was a new South African rugby culture far removed from the brandy and coke potbellied types that stereotype the traditional white Afrikaans male’s bond with the game.
Zulu dancers were introduced as part of pre-match entertainment at Tests, playing quotas ensured black representation on the field and slowly blacks were enticed to experience an afternoon at the palace of what was once a white’s only affair.
There was an effort being made to change perception and to kill off stereotyping, but South African rugby could guarantee nothing outside of their control – and they don’t control who pays to go to a ground. They could not foresee Piet van Zyl, dressed in jeans and a Springbok jersey that couldn’t accommodate his barrel gut, casually wondering onto the field and assaulting Irish referee Dave McHugh when the Springboks played the All Blacks in Durban in 2002, and they could not be accountable for the actions of an unidentified individual who racially abuses another at a game.
All that South African rugby can control is that over which it has influence, and that is why the endorsement of Vodacom’s 2009 rugby campaign is baffling because all it has done is reinforce that the South African rugby fan is everything the organization has tried to convince us is no longer the case.
Vodacom, as the primary sponsor of rugby in South Africa, is celebrating the year of the fan. His name is Jan, he is player 23 in the team and he is a clone of the 1970s white Springbok rugby supporter – a walking caricature of what has always repulsed. Only they’ve given Jan a personality of being a jovial and hugely popular bloke, but perception is stronger than fact and the physical appearance of Jan and what he represents in the stands adds to the perception that rugby in South Africa is still a game supported only by grossly overweight brandy and coke potbellied types.
I have sympathy for the well-traveled and likeable modern Afrikaans-speaking South African who loves his language, loves his rugby and loves living in South Africa. This modern Afrikaner certainly doesn’t look or act like Jan and he must cringe every time he sees the advertisement.
In an evolving South African rugby audience market, Jan is in the minority at Stormers and Sharks matches, which says player 23 should be a celebration of something more than a pot-bellied Afrikaans speaking supporter. What of Gert, who is sophisticated, lean and intelligent? What of Sipho, who digs his rugby almost as much as he does soccer? What of Alice who never misses a game? What of Peter, who has always put the Springboks first on a Saturday afternoon?
Vodacom will defend their choice of Jan as good natured fun and SA Rugby will see nothing offensive in it, yet continue to wonder why the perception that their game caters only for conservative and racist whites.
The game in this country is more cosmopolitan in support than it has ever been and that is the pity of the advertisement because it reflects the past when there is so much of the current to be showcased when the British & Irish Lions visit in June.
This is not about being politically correct, but about accuracy in who supports the Springboks. There is more to South African rugby than Jan, but thanks to Jan it will take another 10 years to convince critics of South African rugby that there is life beyond the 23rd member of the team.
Things off the field have changed in our rugby and innovation would be celebrating this in the same way the Bulls and Sharks celebrated what hasn’t changed on the field, which is the ability of a good South African team to turn defence into the most lethal form of attack.
The Bulls and Sharks were brutal in defending their line against the Hurricanes and Force respectively, and the skill in maintaining defensive composure is equal to anything a team does when given the ball.
Rugby is a game played as much without the ball as with it, and at the weekend we saw two very good South African sides reinforce the stereotype that South African teams are more dangerous without the ball.
And, unlike Jan, that is a stereotype the cosmopolitan South African rugby fan should never find offensive.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Jan the Dragon
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Keo,you better leave the office now.
Jan is on his way to moer you!!
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:18 pm
I see your point Keo,but as a white Afrikaner I’m not offended. We can actually laugh at ourselves(most of us) and I find the ad quite funny.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Keo drawing the race card again…
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:19 pm
lol, interesting piece, i have not seen the advertising campaign.
Guess it depends, if Jan is done like a Van Der Merwe type oke then i think it could be hugely amusing, everyone enjoys the okker or larrikin and the individual who could not give a f’ck if he’s sophisticated or not. Say no to metrosexual chardonnay sippers in rugby. Besides thats our claim to fame, who wants to be sophisticated? We could not be even if we wanted to.
The problem with the Boorish image is that its associated with racism, and the stereotype is often true, not always.
I would take someone who ryks his poep anyday of the week, even if he is the consumate idiot.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:20 pm
aaaghhhhh thats a pessimistic look at it.
Ag nee ouens ons hoef nie als altyd tog in suid afrika aan ras te koppel nie.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:20 pm
#3 pokkel: Although Schalk digging the ice cream stick from the dustbin is a bit much.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:20 pm
AT LAST SOMEONE OPENS THEIR MOUTH ON THIS SHIT. SAME WITH THE MUSIC THEY FEED THE MASSES IN THIS COUNTRY…NO WONDER WE ARE MESSED UP. I AGREE, CAMPAIGNS LIKE THIS IS A KLAP IN MY FACE AND MANY TO OTHER WITH ABOVE AVG IQs…
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Fat people have feelings too…
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:22 pm
I AM TIRED OF BEING PATRONISED LIKE THIS…
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:23 pm
#5 cab:
Well put Cab.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:23 pm
I’d be very surprised if at any rugby stadium in the world the ‘lean’ folk outnumber the well fed lot.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:24 pm
if vodacom see’s their average client as a fat and sweaty…going bald…male who looks drunk and wears a Springbok jersey and frokkies…good luck to them.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:25 pm
It is ridiculous to find fault with an advertising campaign just because it doesn’t fall into your personal taste. I can guarantee you that 90% of people who saw that ad for the first time had a bit of a chuckle at it – everyone knows a ‘Jan’ from somewhere, and it doesn’t matter which colour he is.
People these days are just so sensitive about crap like this.
So much for VodaCom sponsoring a banner on keo.co.za.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:25 pm
unfortunately south africans cannot do a decent parody of themselves, since they not really secure enough to laugh at themselves so i should imagine Jan is as corny as hell.
He needs to be helluva dom and a bit of a loser. There’s an oke called harry enfield in pomgola who makes me piss myslelf. He does two south african characters. The first is a tactless pharmacist, who is so f’ing close to the bone its frightening, and the second is a gymrat called Pik, which is also bladdy good. All on utube, now that is funny parody.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Expect this one to ruffle some feathers.
I was actually thinking the same thing when the campaign came out, I thought that somebody would eventually comment on it.
Something like this gives Simnikiwe Xabanisa from the Sunday Times even more ammunition.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:27 pm
elke keer as ek daai ad sien wil ek braak…dis mos hoe elke flippen Suid-Afrikaanse rugby ondersteuner lyk en optree…
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Don’t patronize me Keo. You don’t know Gert from a bar of soap and you don’t know the average Afrikaans supporter – or care two hoots about him – either.
I am white, Afrikaans, have a Master’s degree and have travelled to three different continents. I don’t have a pot belly and I’m still far from middle aged. And I LOVE Jan.
Don’t try and tell me what I should and shouldn’t enjoy. The overwhelming response from PAYING rugby supporters has been that they love the Jan add. Every time it comes on, I turn up the volume, call my buddies, and we have a good laugh.
Go back to your southern suburb ivory tower in Cape Town, and keep your poisonous views to yourself.
I don’t complain about the Soccer add where the Man United fans get treated to the local soccer culture, which features 100% black fans.
In any case, you should just wait 30 years until our white population approaches that of Zim in numbers, and you’ll get what you’re asking for without having to fight for it.
In the meantime, stop being an aggravator, an instigator and a bullsh*t generator.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:28 pm
#15 cab: but many of us are not like that.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:29 pm
#17 Ned: As jy so skaam is vir jou pa moes jy nie dat hy in die ad act nie…
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:30 pm
I disagree Keo.
By your logic the average soccer supporter is A fat black guy with massive glasses and a vuvuzela? That is what the advertisements show me. So by your flawed logic all the soccer supporters are taxi drivers?
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:30 pm
#3 pokkel: I am coloured. I don’t think there is anything wrong with the ad campaign.
I find it quite entertaining and true…
When I watch the ad, I don’t see a “white afrikaner.” I view myself just like Jan, passionate about rugby and the Boks and of course, “my team.”
I think its a great campaign which makes the supporter apart of the team.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:32 pm
#20 Kerneels:
Best chirp ever!!
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:32 pm
ag no
only silly politicians
cum
wannabe rugby supporters
have a problem
with that
ad
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:32 pm
#18 Tacitus: I love Jan too!!!
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:33 pm
#18 Tacitus: Must be one hell of an ad…
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:34 pm
#16 WP Till I Die Is ‘n Slaafse Seun:
Keo actually got the idea from reading his article. Why only come out with it now Keo? The ad has been running for months now.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:35 pm
So Keo, what is the solution?
Should “Jan” be a personality-less mascot of some kind?
Or should we have a panel in the campaign, you know, a liquorice-all-sorts type group of people, with the mandatory white, coloured, black and Indian okes/ladies?
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:35 pm
#19 Ned:
i actually think that Harry Enfield does both characters so well that one cannot help be endeared to them; whereas i should imagine Jan would be made out to be this popular sunshine oke which defeats the purpose. the oke has to be the butt of the joke, but is too dom to know or care, that would also appeal to all the other groups in SA who would associate with it as being a more accurate image… the oke passed out in the parking lot with a blouebul horn helmet protuding from his arse.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:37 pm
#28 WP Till I Die Is ‘n Slaafse Seun:
We must not forget to ensure that the supporter’s panel includes:
- a gay/lesbian person
- a disabled person
- an HIV-positive person
- an elderly person
Hmmmm.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Nothing like a fat “Dutchman” representing SA Rugby. Quality stuff Vodacom, you should have Cheeky Watson on your board of directors.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:38 pm
We are an immature society.
We are far too sensitive.
The ad is brilliant and very funny.
That is all.
Nothing more and nothing less.
You can read whatever you like into it, and that is the problem with the complexes that people carry.
Let’s learn to laugh at ourselves.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:38 pm
#30 WP Till I Die Is ‘n Slaafse Seun:
And a female.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:38 pm
#29 cab:
Why are you persecuting the Blue Bulls now?
Rather make it of Jan passed out in the parking lot with a few empty Castle cans around him, clutching a Springbok soft-toy?
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:39 pm
#12 racheltjiedebeer: hehe. Had a laugh there. You are so right though.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Jan, Jan, Jan hy’s die soul vannie span,
22 manne in ‘n rugbyspan, but the 23rd oke is ‘n genuine stud,
He’s name is Jan, he’s every team’s dream,
Player 23 there’s a Jan for every teamm
Just love this ad, and a Proud South African Coloured, see no problem, why must it always be black or coloured in the spotlight – window dressing are long gone…
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:40 pm
#34 WP Till I Die Is ‘n Slaafse Seun:
Or maybe Jan being caught by his wife savaging a Wallabie doll?
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Geez Keo
What utter crap! I find it amazing that a journalist with any credibility would write such nonsense. I hope Business Day will ask for their money back…..
Does this mean every white ou with a pot belly, drinking brandy and coke at a rugby game is a racist?
Ned, your Chardonnay is too cold! Brain freeze???
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:40 pm
its the best advert on tv at moment !! very catchy as well, Ned, get over yourself buddy. Vodacom must be lovin this, free advertising !!! genius i tell you !!
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:41 pm
#18 Tacitus: goeie argument ook van jou kant…beholder’s eye storie sal hier geld…maar ek skaaf my saam met KEO by die een. Afrikaanse musiek het die selfde siekte.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:41 pm
I would suggest that the average Man United fan or the average Aussie Rules fan or the average NFL fan in Dallas, Texas doesn’t look very different from Jan.
That is the archetypal sports fan you see there, gentlemen. If you are looking for a metrosexual intellectual type in a sports jacket and designer jeans, you are looking in the wrong place.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:42 pm
#15 cab:
Cab, go to youtube and search for player 23.
Keo what an absolute load of rubbish!
If a marketing or advertising campaign is aimed at creating an interest in a target market where the game is not popular, they will create something to suit that and it won’t be this player 23 campaign.
If a marketing campaign is aimed at celebrating our cosmopolitan rugby nation a campaign which depicts our RWC success with pictures of Madiba and thousands of people of all races at the airport or lining the streets against the background music of Impi will be more popular than a campaign like the player 23 one.
However if a campaign is designed around celebrating the supporter of the game of rugby you turn to the supporters who best and most support the game of rugby – the ‘year of the fan’ campaign SS and Vodacom is currently doing.
Jan and the player 23 campaign is specifically aimed at rugby – however when I see add campaigns for soccer the image or persona used is that of a guy with oversized sunglasses, hard hats and vuvuzelas and yes, they are mainly black, because that is the majority support base.
Hell some campaigns in the past used taxi drivers driving through Soweto on the way to FNB stadium carrying a bunch of Poms.
Did I find that offensive?
f#$@ no!
This is a poor attempt at trying to fuel something that has nothing to do with the issue you are trying to raise out of it.
FFS I thought the Jan campaign is kak funny as was the soccer taxi campaign add.
Whatever the #$%^ happened to responsible journalism?
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:42 pm
#29 cab: lol
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:43 pm
#34 WP Till I Die Is ‘n Slaafse Seun:
yes that works too, but i guess we’re all well aware of both scenarios not only being realistic but happen every weekend. hell that half the fun travelling to loftus, its like a freak show out of the 70s.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:43 pm
#3 pokkel: Yes, it is funny and yes, it is true that I can also laugh at my fellow Afrikaners (normally whenever I go anywhere near Loftus, Centurion or Pretoria North).
Keo does have a point though. I don’t like people thinking all Afrikaners are “Boers” like one of my Indian friends at work call us. The perception is there that Afrikaans okes all drive 4×4’s, drink brandy, have a beer gut and are stupid.
So call me player 24, the Afrikaans speaking, Audi driving, wine and whiskey connoisseur with an athletic body, who is working on his 3rd engineering degree. I don’t think Jan and I will get along well.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:43 pm
#32 tight head: TH, Well said. That is a huge problem here. We don’t laugh at ourselves enough. I always say people who can laugh at themselves has a really healthy atitude to life.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:43 pm
#16 WP Till I Die Is ‘n Slaafse Seun:
He already commented on it which is where I think Keo got his idea from.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:43 pm
#42 PissAnt:
ok will do, did not know it was on, lekker.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:44 pm
#18 Tacitus: Can’t help but enjoy your comments!
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:45 pm
#36 Charlie:
Exactly those words -this defines the whole add- He’s name is Jan, he’s every team’s dream,
Player 23 there’s a Jan for every team.