So what exactly would have happened if an African explorer beat Jan van Riebeeck at exploring?
Well Chicken Licken has answered that question in a hilarious new advert released on Monday, 26 November 2018.
When you think of a legend, you think about the story of a person who defied the odds to achieve something extraordinary. But, you don’t always think about a tale of a person whose hunger inspired them to greatness …
The Big John Top Deluxe meal from Chicken Licken is a relatively well-known offering, yet no one knows where the name Big John comes from or who, if anyone, the meal is named after. To quell the curiosity of Chicken Licken’s biggest fans, Chicken Licken in partnership with brand and communications agency group, Joe Public United, sparked the creative idea of creating a campaign, including digital and outdoor elements, that brings to life this legend.
Titled ‘The Legend of Big John’, the campaign kicks off with a film directed by Grant De Sousa of they Shoot Films. The film is centred around a young man called Big Mjohnana, who leaves his village at the tip of Africa to satisfy his hunger for adventure. The audience follows his epic journey as he sails across the ocean and encounters countless obstacles that he easily overcomes. His legendary adventure reaches an unexpected conclusion as he discovers a foreign land in 1651. He finds a bewildered Jan van Riebeeck and his crew as they load cargo onto their three ships (the Dromedaris, Reijger and Goede Hoop) before they embark on their voyage.
Watch the hilarious advert below:
Update: Chicken Licken has been ordered to pull the commercial after a complaint to the Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB).
The ARB made the ruling on Friday the 14th December 2018, just 3 weeks after it’s release.
Sandile Cele complained about the fast-food restaurant’s commercial for the Big John burger. He argued that it makes a “mockery of the struggles of the African people against the colonisation by the Europeans in general, and the persecutions suffered at the hands of the Dutch in particular.”
In its ruling, the ARB argued that colonialism in Africa was “traumatic”, “cannot be trivialised in any manner” and is “not open for humorous exploitation”.
“While the commercial seeks to turn the colonisation story on its head with Big John travelling to Europe, it is well-known that many Africans were in fact forced to travel to Europe in the course of the colonisation of Africa. They did not leave their countries and villages wilfully. They starved to death during those trips to Europe and arrived there under harsh and inhumane conditions.
“Atrocities suffered by Africans under colonisation are well-documented and the legacy thereof continues to exist to date,” said the ARB.
“The fact that the commercial is far-fetched and over-the-top does not nullify the potential offence.”
Chicken Licken has disagreed with the ruling, however.
“The commercial stems to show South Africans that Chicken Licken believes this country has all the potential to conquer the world and rewrite history from an African perspective,” said the company.
“Its tongue-in-cheek sense of humour is a tone that consumers have come to expect, but its communication’s underlying purpose is to create a sense of pride and patriotism amongst South Africans.”
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