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CATCH THE FEELS
Retail chain Woolworths has gone big to launch its winter collection. The Catch the Feels campaign celebrates 20 South African heroes who have done remarkable work locally and around the world.
Set to launch on March 9, the campaign brings together the likes of Miss Universe Zozibini Tunzi, businesswoman Basetsana Kumalo, comedian Celeste Ntuli, the Ndlovu Youth Choir, and award-winning designer Thebe Magugu, among others.
#Trending spoke to the campaign’s creative director, Michael Carter, who said for this winter collection the retailer would be focusing on key categories including soft touch, boots, cotton jackets and knitwear.
Wanting to create an authentic experience, the brand chose The Market theatre for the campaign shoot. Carter explains that what they ended up with was a nuanced product steeped in the history of the theatre.
“The Market theatre was a perfect venue for this campaign because it has an emotional feeling around it and everything came naturally.
“I didn’t feel like I was directing on set; we just rolled the camera and the cast did their thing. That’s the joy of working with professionals.”
Sayed Shaheda – Woolworths executive head of brand communications for fashion, beauty, home and international marketing – tells us that the cast was chosen to celebrate and acknowledge what each participant had achieved for South Africa.
“We wanted our brand to be a beacon of hope and to celebrate all good things about this country. Most importantly, [we wanted to celebrate] each cast member as a trailblazer,” Shaheda said.
She added that the last time Woolies successfully pulled off a campaign such as this one was in 2005. That campaign celebrated icons and brought together singer Lira and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, as well as late musicians Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba.
Kumalo couldn’t contain her excitement about the project. Clad in a beige coat and red cotton-knit polo neck, a black soft leather skirt and black boots, she embodied the new collection.
“As people, we often dwell in the negativity that has happened in our country,” Kumalo said. “Yes, we come from a very dark past, but let’s not forget to look at all the positive things we achieved last year. “As a country we need to learn to pick up the pieces and move forward because if we lose hope we don’t have a future.”
Ntuli shares the same sentiment, saying that being part of this campaign is a dream come true for her.
“Being chosen among South African pioneers is so inspiring and working closely with Bassie [Kumalo] and other iconic people is a big deal to me. It is a lifetime opportunity,” she said.
