Chicken Licken campaign asks SA to find Jamie love

Supplied. Chicken Licken’s latest Love Me Tender Burger TV ad is to find Jamie’s soul mate

Jamie is a 31-year-old musician from Soweto, who loves music, travel, anime, good times, and good vibes.

Love sweet love

Playing himself, the TV ad sees Jamie waking up in his home, walking down the street he lives on and catching a taxi to work just like he does every day. It even co-stars some of his family and friends.

On his journey, it seems like love is all around him. In fact, the only person that looks like they need love is Jamie.

This is painfully pointed out by his “inner voice”, played by the wonderfully euphonious Msaki, who follows him wherever he goes singing her rendition of “What Jamie needs now, is love, sweet love.”

From the traffic lights to the clouds, from the bikers to the air dancers, everyone seems to have found someone, except poor Jamie.

At the end of the commercial finds himself sitting on a bench, alone in a park. Here Jamie finally meets what could be the love of his life only to realise he is simply in the middle of someone else’s meet-cute - another couple who has found a little love with the Love Me Tender burger from Chicken Licken.

The commercial ends with a simple call to action: Help Jamie Find Love at tenderapp.co.za, dating app created especially for the campaign.

Not an actor

Finding Jamie was not easy. Jamie is also not an actor so he was not cast under usual circumstances.

Creative partner Joe Public, and production company Star Films Director Tebza and cast coordinator Mlindelwa Mahlangu had to jump in and assist.

Both teams used personal contacts, referrals and social media to shortlist 16 potential candidates, with Jamie eventually being their star choice.

Goal to find Jamie love

The integrated campaign will run for the next eight weeks and includes social media, digital, outdoor, TV and radio.

The public will get to vote for their best matches, as will Jamie, until he finds the one. Their identity will be kept top secret and will be revealed in a surprise conclusion indicative of Chicken Licken’s authentic brand storytelling.

“Chicken Licken is a brand that is lovingly referred to as Mzansi’s soul food. And if the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, then using a Chicken Licken Tender burger to find Jamie his soul mate makes complete sense,” says Xolisa Dyeshana, Joe Public chief creative officer.

“The campaign will not be measured on KPI’s, or targets, or sales, or even ROI’s. This campaign has one goal and one goal alone. To find Jamie love.”

If you enjoy a love story, and you think you are a good match or that you know someone who is then please send them over to tenderapp.co.za.