Gaddafi and Hussein, the deceased leaders of Libya, and Iraq repectively, are seen joking with each other in the Nando’s advert, making commentary on the shifting sands of international geopolitics.
Called Last dictator standing, the 45-second advert, originated in Nando’s, South Africa, and opens with a Robert Mugabe lookalike wistfully picking up a Colonel Gaddafi place card from an empty dinner table. In a dream sequence he is then met by the deceased Libyan dictator who starts a waterfight with a golden AK-47.
Mugabe is then seen frolicking with Saddam Hussein, South African apartheid leader P W Botha and former Ugandan president Idi Amin before the dream sequence cuts out.
The advertisement is for Nando’s 6-pack meal.
It’s not the first controversial advert to come out of Nando’s South Africa.
It responded to the ebbing fortunes of of Julius Malema, expelled from the African National Congress, with a tongue-in-cheek advert stating “Juju, you’ve been served”.
Following the South African Protection of the State Information Bill (referred to as the “secrecy bill”), Nando’s released an advert with blacked out words parodying censorship in the media.
A statement on the Nando’s website says: “Needless to say Nando’s ads have been the centre of some heated topics of conversation. We’ve also won a lot of advertising awards along the way and they’ve been fantastic!”.
