Why vodacom went red

His work has been published both in French and English. He used to contribute to Bizcommunity. Read more: Pieter Uys , Vodacom rebranding. Related Absa, Vodacom in deal for mobile financial services 18 Aug Leaders and crises: Do they mix? News Show more. Republication of selected Bizcommunity content for non-commercial purposes is allowed if the original article is linked to with "Source: www. Please click here for more information and to request permission.

Press pack picture of Ponte City with fireworks for unveiling of Vodacom's new branding. Print ad with Michael de Pinna and Bankole Omotso. Print ad with Mo the Meerkat.

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Where your backstory is a front page story. How to stand out in a challenging market Mike de Charmoy. What kind of Vodacom is red? A few days after Vodacom rolled out its rebranding television campaign, this heading was my Facebook status, which received interesting feedback.

Some of the comments were: "One that is hugely irritating and noooooot creative! What a let-down and annoyance! Suppose this is only a sample of friends that are tuned but not impressed with the "new" concept. Again, brand confusion came into play when my partner and I squabbled about the current Vodacom logo, which he mistook for Vodafone's.

The difference is that I had read the last three letters of the word that is in the logo and he didn't, as do a significant number of consumers. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies as set out in our Privacy Policy. Vodacom, having finally realised that colour can be a brand identifier did news of a competitor annexing the colour yellow filter through? Pesky little competitor Cell C, which used to be red but then decided to be black, has put out a number of ads that have a little dig at this rather desperate looking rebrand.

In the TV ad, Vodacom is depicted as an old blue vehicle halfway through a red paint job, whereas Cell C is a sleek little black number. Cell C also makes claims of great technological prowess, and of having been voted best mobile broadband service provider for Predictably Vodacom rushed off to the ASA. The ASA was pretty brutal. It held that the technical claims could not be substantiated.

It dismissed Vodacom's complaint that the blue car was old-fashioned, seemingly because it was a Nissan Skyline, a car that is apparently regarded as an iconic sports car.

But it held that the ads were disparaging of the Vodacom rebrand, saying that the implication was pretty clear — the rebrand was a case of form over substance.

In weighing these two interests up, the right of Chicken Licken to freedom of expression must give way to its obligation not to advertise in a manner which would discredit or be disparaging of its major competitor's product or advertisements. Which is a bit different to what the Constitutional Court said in the Laugh-It-Off case - the trade mark right had to give way to the right to comment on the brand. And does Vodacom just not get it — when you rise to the bait you simply give those taunting you more publicity than they ever could hope to get otherwise?

Just take a look at what's going on at the Equality Court right now to see how these things work! The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter.