Radio and Audio > Excellence in Radio & Audio

"JAB JAB"

GREY SOUTH AFRICA, Johannesburg / DISTELL / 2022

Awards:

Gold Cannes Lions
CampaignCampaign(opens in a new tab)
MP3 Original Language
Supporting Content

Overview

Credits

Overview

Write a short summary of what happens in the radio or audio work.

Our raconteur recounts a funny story peppered with words containing repeated syllables such as “2020”, “putt-putt” and “couscous” to demonstrate that just like a COVID-19 vaccine, some sounds make more sense when repeated.

The pattern of duplication in the first few lines entices the listener with the potential that the whole radio spot will follow suit, urging the audience to not only listen out for the double sounds, but also for how they’re used creatively and coherently to tell the tale.

The story concludes with the our protagonist’s motivation for getting both shots of the vaccine followed by the announcer’s satisfying explanation that “Some things work in twos”.

A duplicate syllable even has the last word on the matter, ending the ad with a reprise and a smile.

Translation. Provide a full English translation of any audio.

So, my boy, JJ, is very very scared of germs.

Back in 2020, we’re in Bela Bela sharing a chicken peri-peri after putt-putt

when a tsetse fly toyitoyis (dances in protest) on his couscous.

JJ pulls out his BB gun. Bang. Bang.

Surprise, surprise… he missed

but I swat the goggo with a what-what (thingamajig).

Dead as a dodo.

“Let’s go fifty-fifty,” I murmur but JJ says,

“I’ll get the bill… ‘cause you got the goggo (insect)”.

He really hates germs.

That’s why he’s an anti-anti-vaxer.

He’s opposed to people opposed to people getting their jab-jabs.

The last thing he wants for Festive (The Festive Season) is a brand-new virus.

Or to regift it to his mama, baba (father) or gogo (gran). It’s a win-win.

Some things only work in twos.

So, if you need a second jab, get yours manje-manje (quick quick).

It’s our best shot at getting back to normal.

Savanna. It’s dry but you can drink it.

Not for persons under the age of 18. That’s a no-no.

Cultural / Context information for the jury

Many words in South Africa use a duplicated syllable or smaller word, whether its “putt-putt” from South African English or “toyi-toyi” from our indigenous languages.

Languages often borrow from one another, so they’re understood by people of different linguistic groups.

For example, “gogo” is originally an isiZulu word, but most speakers of South African English would know it’s meaning.

Similarly, “putt-putt”, originally an English word, is very close to the isiZulu, “i-putt-putt”.

Here are the words from the script that might not be understood by non-South Africans:

My boy is an informal term for “my buddy”.

Bela Bela is a holiday-town in South Africa famous for its hot springs.

Peri-peri is a Portuguese hot-pepper sauce.

The tsetse fly is a pest, infamous for spreading disease.

A toyi-toyi is a protest dance.

Couscous is a dish of rolled durum wheat of granules.

A BB gun is a

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