SHAIN GERMANER
EXECUTIVES of Nando’s in Zimbabwe were due to meet with the Zimbabwean government today, reportedly to discuss the latest Nando’s advert.
According to the Nando’s advert, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is the last dictator. The advert has gone viral and threatens to cause an international incident.
In an ad campaign that has been described as both vulgar and hilarious, Nando’s has incurred the wrath of the Zimbabwean president by showing him – well, a lookalike at least – cavorting with dictators.
The ad has had more than 500 000 views on the NandosADS YouTube channel since it landed last week.
Nando’s SA marketing manager Quinton Cronjé said the global response had been incredibly positive, with only a few rumblings emerging from Zimbabwe, but not the rest of the continent.
The advert begins with Mugabe setting what appears to be a festive season dinner table, setting down a place mat for the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
As a saddened look crosses his face, we see dreamy flashbacks of Mugabe and Gaddafi wielding water pistols in a water fight in what appears to be one of their many palatial estates.
Cue the song with the lyrics: “Those were the days my friend” and shots of Mugabe making sand angels with Saddam Hussein, and a tribute to the Titanic with Idi Amin.
And who can forget the karaoke scene with Mao Zedong?
The scene fades back to the present and we see “The Last Dictator Standing”. Mugabe sits alone at his dinner table after many of his implied dictator “buddies” have been removed from power or killed over the past decade.
The tagline? “This time of year, no one should have to eat alone.”
Militant youth groups supporting Mugabe yesterday called for a boycott of the restaurant chain worldwide.