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.

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.

When the 2021 Festive Season arrived in South Africa after the longest eleven months in history, we knew a second jab would be the last thing on the mind of 18- to 24-year-olds, our core market. Plus, nobody had said two words about the one-dose dilemma – the popular false belief that a single shot was adequate protection.

Savanna, SA's most loved alcohol brand has huge social clout, and had the duty to remind our youth that they needed to get their second shot in order to be protected and that the vaccine is #ourbestshot as getting back to normal.

Many South African words use duplicate syllables as in “toyi-toyi”, “what-what”, and “gogo”.

So, we identified all the words that bear repeating, incorporated them into a well-crafted and amusing