Memories of South Africa

The first hours I was in South Africa for a shooting I felt completely rotten. I hardly slept on the plane. My teampartner Peter van der Helm and I were standing at the airport and the film crew was already waiting to bring us to the shooting location by taxi. No time to rest. After driving for an hour, past the slums of Cape Town and past the Table Mountain, we arrived at a magnificent sunny beach with palm trees. Now this would usually bring at least a smile to my face, but at that moment all I could think was: ‘I want to go to sleep'. After we had chosen the location, we were brought to our hotel. And what a splendid hotel it was! It was a special hotel for filmcrews and even castings were held there. My room was as big as an average apartment and I had a big bed all to myself. The next day I felt a lot better and I was ready to work. It was the first day of the shooting. I've never seen so many people working on just one commercial. About 80 people - including film crew, people who carry stuff, catering, actors and extras – were involved in the making of the film. The idea was simple: a group of good looking youngsters were standing on a beach and drinking the new Fanta Exotic. This drink is so refreshing that after taking a sip, the young bunch is immediately flooded by a big tidal wave. Not a very special idea. But because of this simple idea, we got to do what all young creatives dream of: making a TV-commercial on a sunny beach in South Africa. During this week of shooting, I also got to know the people from the production company Havasu. Every night after shooting we ate at a different restaurant, and after dinner we always tried as many cocktails as we could in the hotel lobby. Afterwards, the Fanta commercial stayed in my portfolio for a long time. But after hearing from several creative directors that the idea was not very good, I had to let go of this ‘darling'. At least the experience and the memories of this amazing week will remain with me forever.

You can see the commercial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlNRCWCRzps