New campaign encourages consumers to buy local

South Africa has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world at 32.9 % in the first quarter of 2023, according to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey. The youth unemployment rate — which includes jobseekers aged between 15 and 24 — is even worse, rising to 62.1% in the same period. 

The results of the survey also indicated that 179,000 jobs were lost between the fourth quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023. The total number of unemployed people was 7.9-million in the first quarter. 

Proudly South African has launched a campaign to show people that they can be part of the solution to unemployment. An analogy of a sports match titled Second Half takes viewers through the years leading up to the pandemic as the first half of the “game” of job creation and poverty alleviation, showcased in the previous consumer campaign, First Half, narrated by actor John Kani.

As the title suggests, Second Half represents a time when the country needs to regroup, recover, revisit the game plan and rethink its loyalty to local products and services as well as collectively push to help the economy recover.   

Proudly South African CEO Eustace Mashimbye says every rand spent on local products helps to rebuild the local economy and contributes to retaining and creating jobs.  

“Our message is clear: buying locally manufactured goods and services helps to create a demand for local jobs which has a direct impact on today’s youth and future generations. Many countries, such as China, are thriving because of their strength in localisation and export powers. This compels us as South Africans to be more intentional and robust about localising the goods that we consume or use,” he says.

The Second Half television commercial puts the country’s future labour force in the spotlight, demonstrating the direct impact that consumers can have on the future of South Africa’s children if they buy and support home-grown products and services. It depicts eight labour-intensive industries that are part of the government’s sectoral masterplans: agroprocessing; furniture; clothing, textile, footwear and leather; steel and construction; manufacturing; aviation; automotive; and food and beverages.

Mashimbye says the goal of the campaign is to emotively connect with consumers in a way that’s close to home and encourages buying locally produced products. “Our future, and that of our children, depends on our choices today,” he says.

The big take-out: South Africans need to be more intentional about their buying choices and support locally manufactured products to help address high rates unemployment.