Shaik: In of uit?

Incoming from bizcommunity.com:

Draftfcb Cape Town ‘Shaiks’ things up in the Mother City with this proactive piece it recently developed for Die Burger to emphasise the newspaper’s pay-off line, ‘Praat Saam’, which loosely translates as ‘join the conversation’.

Posters of convicted fraudster, Schabir Shaik, who has been in and out of jail a number of times, were placed behind and in front of railings around Cape Town. The headline asks: ‘In or Out?’

Here’s the piece in question, doing its thing:

Provocatively proactive indeed. And popular too, apparently:

“This tongue-in-cheek way of drawing attention to Shaik’s prison antics – he’s been incarcerated, released on medical parole, rearrested for assault and released again – has been loved by the people of Cape Town,” said one of the Creative Directors on the piece, Aaron Harris. “There’s been a lot of hooting and laughing as people pass the strategically placed ads.”

But look out – there’s some ad-speak coming:

“At the same time, however, the treatment challenges readers to form their own opinion, backed by the insights they have gleaned from Die Burger’s superior quality journalism. So, does he deserve special treatment? Was he framed? As Cape Town’s ‘information partner’, Die Burger is a reliable source of honest and unbiased fact, giving its readers’ the input they need to decide for themselves.”

I don’t think there will be too many people who will disagree with me if I stick my neck out here and suggest that the readers of Die Burger might well have formed their own opinion long before they glean any insights from the superior quality journalism therein. However, who am I to doubt someone the words of an individual who can create something as challenging as this treatment (“treatment”? -Ed) and is probably a thoroughly nice bloke?

I therefore plan to take my Google Translate in hand and do a quick overview of the honest and unbiased fact which Die Burger has given us on the Schabir Schaik saga. Once I’ve done that, I’ll report back (think Kwa-Zulu Natal Correction Services Medical Parole Appeals Board timescale).