As an alcohol brand in Africa, Diageo is only able to advertise on TV after 10pm. Branded content provided us the opportunity to build a relationship with MTV viewers before and after the watershed and thereby reach millions more people than we would’ve been able to do via conventional TVC executions.

Casting was crucial because we didn’t want to use actors. Everyone that featured in the campaign had to be interesting, exciting and most of all inspirational. It was also important that these people weren’t just well known celebrities, they had to be part of a new wave of emerging and ‘yet to be discovered’ talent.

Casting for the ‘Made of Black’ campaign took over 8 months and featured people from across the whole of Africa, including Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Cameroon and the Ivory Coast. The cast included a group of Pantsula dancers from the Alexandra Township in South Africa. A Kenyan model called Ajuma who was once teased for her dark skin, but has since been a Victoria’s Secret’s model. A group of Heavy Metal Bikers from Botswana, who wear ‘out of this world’ leather costumes and the only male ballet dancer in Nigeria. And the list goes on. Over 50 people appeared in the commercial and a website which accompanied the campaign showcased the stories behind each and every one of them.

In the words of Guinness, the casting for this campaign was truly ‘Made of More’.

Over 7.9million people tuned in to watch the MTV #madeofblack takeover across Africa via MTV and free-to-air partner stations. #madeofblack was the No1 trending topic in Nigeria & Ghana on the day of launch and in total has over generated over 13 million impressions. Support of the Black Commando competition on MTV Base social channels resulted in approx. 52,727 views of Black Commando content on social platforms.