Everything is around the world cup - the South African/African way - I can feel the spirit and I've kinda caught the fever myself.
Anyway, as the ads flipped, along came the Spar advert: 'win a trip to a country of the winning 2010 team with all expenses paid etc'! I was in utter shock! Something crossed my mind immediately: "What if Bafana Bafana wins? What would this trip entail?" I pondered.
Rallying support
Now, let me explain. We're rallying support behind Bafana, yes. We want them to get as far as quarter finals or even play the losers game before the finals, but what's stopping us from really believing in their strength and eagerness to win this world cup? It's through our support that they can only make it. They have all the advantages, home ground and supporters! What more do they really need to make it?!
Now for a business like Spar, to go on air, with an underlying message saying: well, we know you boys are not going to get far [yes, I know we very sceptical, especially since they have not been doing so very well the past few years, including not qualifying for CAF] so we should not expect much. But I reckon we need to give them benefit of the doubt!
It's not in the spirit of Ubuntu for such an ad to air this time. If Spar paid attention to messages from former sports players around the world, it should be saying 'support your boys, they might surprise us'. To show such a lack of support before the world cup kicks off officially is not 'good for me' or Ayoba!
Find it very callous
It would be better if this ad were done after the world cup. I find it very callous towards our national soccer team and undermining of the spirit of Ubuntu and nation-building, when sport can unite South Africa against all odds. I applaud all those companies which have ensured that their ads have world cup humour and support the team during this time.
