5 Funny African Commercials That Will Portray Blacks in New Light

Hey folks, we’re back with another segment of #FunnyFridays, where we bring to you some of the hilarious commercials in the history of advertisement. While last week we brought to you some of the funniest Arabic commercials, this week we thought of presenting commercials that featured blacks.

Unlike Arabs, who are usually portrayed negatively in the mainstream media, blacks haven’t had it as bad in the marketing world. However, comedy is not seen as their strongest forte. But blacks have been part of some of the most insanely funny commercials over the last decade or two.

So, here are 5 hilarious African commercials that will break many stereotypes about blacks and their representation in mainstream media.

1. Cremora

What better way to start off this list than with this legendary Cremora commercial that coined one of the most iconic lines to be ever spoken on South African TV- “it’s not inside, it’s on top!”

The commercial shows a man trying to find his Cremora jar inside the refrigerator. Frustrated at not being able to find it, he calls out to his partner who says that it must be on the top. The man parrots the exact sentence and indeed finds the jar over the refrigerator.

2. Lunch Bar

This commercial turned out to be an instant classic the moment it hit African TV back in the 90s.

The premise of the ad is quite simple and tries to showcase that eating a lunch bar will give you enough energy to beat a Scottish tug-of-war team. Considering the brawn of African males, it should not have been too surprising to see them defeating the Scotts. However, it’s the manner in which the protagonist easily brings his competition to their knees that makes this commercial funny and a classic.

3. King Price

This commercial is high on South African culture. To give you some context, there is a TshiVenda culture group based in the Limpopo province of South Africa.

The commercial shows a business practitioner misunderstanding the requirements of the business and thinking that the forum wanted to deal with someone from the tribe. However, they actually wanted a “vendor”, not a ‘venda” as the practitioner thought. Watch the ad if you didn’t catch the metaphor.

4. Nandos

Humor, satire, and pure Mzansi heritage- this commercial has got all of those and then some! Nandos has always been known for its rather cheeky and clever ads and this commercial is no different.

The commercial shows South African politicians at work and how differently they do things there than in the rest of the world. We also get a glimpse of what it would be like if a ministerial escort unit actually coincided with real trouble and then ignored it in favor of politics instead. Well, as bizarre as it sounds, that’s just another day in South Africa.

5. Chicken Licken

And here’s my favorite! While a few agencies had put their ad campaigns on hold during the lockdown as it would require them to meet personally, Chicken Licken kept track of all the funny moments that unfolded on social media.

The commercial included skits made by social media influencers and how everyone coped during the lockdown. What I really loved about this commercial is how naturally it managed to hold on to its humor quotient while presenting the recent developments exactly how they transpired.

Bottom Line

And that was a wrap of yet another #FunnyFridays segment. Blacks have always been viewed as big, burly guys who can fit the role of either the protagonist or the antagonist. But there’s also black humor that has somehow not been presented to the world with the same diligence. Hopefully, these 5 commercials featuring blacks would buck that trend.